Fragments
by scifiromance
Summary: What if during "Workforce" everyone on Voyager became trapped on the planet with amenesia and not just Tuvok, but also Chakotay and Seven, retained fragments of their real lives? C/7 and a little Janeway/Jaffen and P/T in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: So now that "The Hansen Identity" is finished I'm finally starting this fic. It's a C/7 rewrite of "Workforce". Hopefully my changes will make sense when you read it. Thanks to Sweetdeath04 for helping me develop the plot, sorry it's taken me so long to get around to writing it!**

"Remember to make sure Neelix doesn't bring back anything biologically contaminated, we don't want a repeat of the Ladari stomach flu incident and I've heard that the Dash'Nar have some pretty strange delicacies…" Janeway reeled off her final instructions to her First Officer, despite the fact all of the senior officers had spent well over an hour discussing this very trading mission in that morning's staff briefing.

"I'll make sure of it Captain." Chakotay assured her calmly, his inner irritation with her persistent lack of confidence in his common sense not even flickering over his handsome features after seven years of practice in hiding it from her. He picked up the PADD with the supplies they needed listed from her desk and tapped his comm. badge, "Ensign Kim, Neelix, meet me in Shuttle Bay 2 and we'll get going."

"On my way Comma…" Harry began to reply before his voice was abruptly cut off by a huge explosion that rocked the entire ship.

"What the _hell_…" Janeway muttered as she rose from behind her desk, her shocked expression focusing on Chakotay as if she expected him to give her an explanation.

"Captain!" Seven of Nine's strident voice managed to echo through the now static ridden comm. system. "We have hit a sub-space minefield; the ship is being flooded with tetrion radiation!"

"Red Alert!" Janeway ordered sharply as both she and Chakotay ran from her ready room onto the Bridge.

The Doctor whirled away from his latest radiation patient as he heard Sickbay's doors whoosh open once again, expecting another influx of injured and poisoned crewmembers to crowd an already overrun Sickbay, but instead he saw a frazzled and coughing but otherwise uninjured Janeway. "Captain! What's happening?"

"We can't stop the radiation coming in and power is failing, we need to evacuate…" She began to explain.

"I'll prepare the injured for evacuation and we'll…" The Doctor interrupted, for although he was shocked, he knew the crew's bodies wouldn't be able to take much more exposure to the radiation.

"No. I need you to stay here and vent the radiation while we look for assistance."

The Doctor's mouth dropped open in surprise before his concern for his patients overwhelmed him, "But…but Captain, you're all in need of medical care…"

The Captain shrugged, a slight sigh leaving her lips as she said, "Well, we'll just have to make do with med kits for now." She studied him for a moment before suddenly calling to the Computer, "Computer, activate the Emergency Command Hologram, authorisation Janeway Omega 3."

The Doctor's blue medical uniform was exchanged for a red one of command in the blink of an eye. "Captain I…" He stuttered, stunned.

"I want her back in one piece Doctor." The Captain told with a small smile before heading back towards the door, issuing orders, "Commander, start filling the escape pods…"

This unexpected development was now beginning to sink in with the Doctor and he beamed at her, filled with pride despite the situation, "I'll look after her Captain." The Captain gave him a quick nod and left to join the rest of her crew.

Around twelve hours later, long after the drifting white specks of the escape pods had disappeared from view, the Doctor, or ECH as he now referred to himself privately, was standing on the Bridge feeling mildly satisfied, he'd managed to vent the radiation entirely, now all he had to do was restore main power, and of course life support… Yes he'd soon be basking in the crew's praise if everything continued to go to plan… These pleasing thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the familiar sound and sensation of phaser fire hitting Voyager's hull and the Doctor hurriedly ran to the comm., making the attacker's face appear on the viewscreen. "You are attacking the Federation starship U.S.S Voyager, cease and desist or I'll…"

The man's ugly face frowned at him. "This ship is damaged and has no lifesigns aboard, by Quarran law I can take it for salvage. Who are you?"

The Doctor defensively puffed out his chest. "I am the Emergency Command Hologram; I will never allow you to salvage this ship…" He glanced down at the scans of the enemy vessel and gasped, "You and the people who laid the mines, you're one and the same! How dare you…"

The man smirked, ignoring his outburst, "A hologram huh?" He addressed his Computer, "Computer activate the hologram dematerialisation programme."

The Doctor gulped, "Dematerial… "He choked out but before the complete word had left his lips he found himself in the oblivion of deactivation.

The next thing he was aware of was standing in a suddenly darkened Bridge, every console deactivated. "Computer, show me what's outside!" He ordered. The viewscreen came back to life and he immediately saw that they were no longer in open space but in some sort of cavernous and busy warehouse, he could even see workers outside stripping metal off the hull. His tactical subroutines gave him no ideas on how he could possibly get out of this…

"Excuse me?"

Amal Kotay turned away from the thermal power core he was working on to see a petite brunette woman standing beside him, frowning slightly. "Can I help you?" he asked politely.

"I'm Kathryn Janeway, the new thermal operations engineer." A small, mildly embarrassed smile crossed her features, "I think you're doing work assigned to me."

Amal extended his hand to her, which she gripped strongly. "Amal Kotay." He introduced himself before realising that he still expected him to move. "You were late so the manager assigned this to me, why don't you let me finish up and then I'll leave you to it."

"I'm a level 6 engineer, what level are you?" she asked, sounding perturbed.

"Level 5." He replied tersely through gritted teeth. Great, another inflated ego, he thought irritably.

She smiled condescendingly at him. "Well then, I'd rather do it myself. Thanks anyway though."

"Fine." He muttered, packing up his tool kit and heading back to his own post but he couldn't resist throwing back at her. "Just try not to be late next time okay? It creates more work for the rest of us and there's already a labour shortage."

"I'll try my best." She replied coolly before turning to the work he'd almost completed. Amal felt a smirk cross his face a short time later when he heard an alarm sound off at her console, guess you're not so skilled after all Miss Level Six, he thought as he headed over to go help her but then saw that Jaffen, one of the managers, had already sorted it and seemed to be getting very chummy with his newest employee. He watched their little flirty exchange with mild interest for a moment; a diversion was a diversion after all, before he saw the tall, golden headed figure of the new efficiency monitor intervene. Even though he couldn't hear the conversation he could pretty much guess what it contained, having had a run in with the woman earlier in the day, probably something along the line of fraternisation not being permitted during work hours… God, he'd never met anyone so dedicated to the preservation of efficiency in his life. Within a couple of minutes of the monitor departing, Jaffen left his newest engineer with a disappointed look on his face. Amal couldn't help thinking that Jaffen would need to try a hell of a lot harder to capture that particular woman's attention.

Annika Hansen, employee number 8586, efficiency monitor at the power distribution centre, glanced down at her pad to read her instructions once again and took a deep sigh before approaching the sweating, dark skinned man leaning over the railing, for some reason she couldn't specify she felt nervous of this man but true to her nature she pushed this feeling back and gingerly touched his shoulder. "Employee number 8583." She addressed him but his eyes didn't even flicker in her direction. She tried again, "Mr…Tuvok." This time he did turn to look at her and she continued, "The records show you haven't received your last three inoculations…" No reaction. She decided to persist, "The inoculations are essential for your health…" She could feel herself start to get exasperated with this strange man. "A sick worker is an inefficient worker!" she snapped, feeling her body give a start of surprise as these words suddenly made him seize her hand and stare into her face intently.

"You are…Seven…of…Nine…" he croaked out.

Annika felt a shudder of unease travel up her back. "Wh…what?"

He frowned at her, as if not understanding her confusion. "Your designation…it's…Seven of Nine."

"No!" Annika told him sharply, attempting to wrench her hand away as an irrational fear gripped her. "My name is Annika Hansen…my…my employee number is 8586…" She cried out as he suddenly grasped the sides of her head. "_Let go of me_!" She backed against a wall as she struggled, "Security! Help…" The words died on her tongue as pain surged through her head and brought visual images with them, a large silver vessel…a starship, with a huge looming cube alongside it, the crackle of billons of voices… Her breath caught in her throat and a sick feeling knotted in her stomach, finally she managed to wrench the man away but the images lingered…

Amal, alerted by the panicky female scream, ran the short distance to the sound only to see Tuvok, a man he worked with on occasion, being dragged off the efficiency monitor, who was semi-collapsed against the wall, gasping. He heard shouts about the Infirmary but Tuvok shouted loudest, desperately, back at the woman, "I don't believe you are who you think you are!" For a moment, she, ashen faced and gasping, met Tuvok's gaze before fearfully turning away.

Seeing he was nearest, Amal quickly knelt down beside her. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked as he placed his hand on her arm but the effect of their touch was instantaneous, a hot, searing pain coursing through his head. His eyes were suddenly filled by the sight of a little blonde girl playing in what looked like a garden, a man's voice calling her over, shouting Annika but his own voice was louder, overwhelming everything, "Seven of Nine! Annika! Wake up! You're human! Seven…"

Annika meanwhile felt thoughts and emotions flood her with his touch, joy and laughter, fear and anger. Faces were prevalent, a smiling elderly silver haired man with an elaborate blue tattoo above his eye, she knew that the tattoo was something to do with healing… Seeing him comforted her but then a figure appeared, his skin grey and gnarled and hatred flooded her. Then a voice, "Seven of Nine!"

They both jolted out of it at the same moment but recovered differently, Amal instantly pulling his hand away from her as she gasped out, "Chakotay…"

He felt a shiver pass over him as the strange word, or name maybe, hit his ears but he ignored it. "No. I'm Amal Kotay… Did…did…Tuvok hurt you?"

Annika swallowed and looked at the floor, mentally assessing herself. I may be suffering from some sort of shock I suppose but hurt? "No…I don't believe so…" She replied shakily before glancing up at her helper's face and almost recoiling in shock. That tattoo, it was exactly like… She fought the urge to touch it to check if it was real and stood up hurriedly as his concerned and fearful dark eyes stared at her. "Amal Kotay…employee number 8579…"

"That's right." He replied carefully before his face creased in a frown. "You called me something else though, Cha…something…"

Annika rubbed her forehead, she couldn't really remember. "I apologise Mr Kotay. Thank you for coming to my assistance."

"That's okay Miss…" He replied as he studied her, trying to rid himself of the déjà vu sensation he got whenever he looked at her.

"Annika Hansen, employee number 8586." She filled in as he fought the urge to shake his head, that name just didn't seem right for some reason. "I am late for my shift." She suddenly stated, moving away from him by several paces.

"Yeah, so am I but maybe you should go and get checked at the Infirmary first…" He trailed off. She nodded hastily and they both practically ran their separate ways, deeply unnerved by what they'd experienced.

**A/n: I hope this is okay; I'm really not sure about it. Please review! If you even remotely like this you'll love "Prelude" by Sweetdeath04, it's also based on "Workforce" and is much better than this.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Hi, mind if I sit here?"

Amal lifted his hand away from his throbbing head and glanced at the speaker, a short man, human like himself, a small but friendly smile on his face as people pushed past him in the bar's breakfast rush. "Uhh…yeah sure." Amal agreed, moving his tray over to make space for the man to sit down and extending his hand, "Amal Kotay."

The man's smile widened, "Harry Kim, I work in the power distribution plant."

Amal's eyebrows rose slightly, "Oh yeah? Me too. There seems to be a lot of humans working there."

Harry shrugged unconcernedly, "We all need work I suppose."Amal nodded but shouldn't shake off the unsettled feeling that had developed the night before, even since he'd intervened to help that efficiency monitor… He was pulled from these thoughts by Harry speaking again, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Rough night." Amal explained quickly. That was an understatement, he'd been plagued by weird dreams, he couldn't call them nightmares even though they had seriously disturbed him, the whole night. With a sigh of tiredness and exasperation he rubbed his neck and shoulders, only for his eyes to fall on the last person he wanted to see but still couldn't take his eyes off. She was sitting distant from everyone else, an achievement considering how busy the bar was, an uneaten meal in front of her, much as his was, and staring into space with a deep set frown on her face, as if she were pondering something disturbing.

Tom Paris, the bar's newest waiter, picked up his next drink order and headed towards the table, slamming the tray down beside the two men. "A water and a Rosalian spiced tea." He announced but neither of them even looked at him. Suspicious, he followed their gaze and saw the object of their fascination, the blonde efficiency monitor who had rebuffed him so icily three days before, and smirked at them. "I wouldn't even think about it if I were you, she's pretty brutal with her put downs." He advised. The younger man closed his mouth with a blush and hurriedly gulped at his water but the elder one, with the unusual tattoo, remained oblivious. "Hey, were you listening? I said you'll have no luck with that one!" Tom laughed as he addressed him again.

Amal's head finally snapped round to see the speaker, feeling irritation sweep through him. It's not like that! He thought angrily but sighed as he realised he had no explanation to give and he picked up the tea and sipped it, just then he saw the woman rise abruptly and walk with anxious purpose from the room, making a quick decision, he stood too. "The bill please." He requested of the waiter sharply.

Entertained, Tom chuckled, "Yeah sure. 12 credits."

Amal quickly threw some currency onto the table, "Keep the change." He muttered before hurriedly following his interest out of the door.

"Thanks." Tom said as he lifted the money but realised he'd already gone. "Wow, he's got it bad!"

Annika left the bar behind her as quickly as possible, agitated by the crowds and the feeling of strangeness this whole place gave her. She headed down the corridor towards the power plant, thinking. I should be completely adapted to this place by now; I've been here almost three weeks… Suddenly memories of the night before, Tuvok's voice, echoed through her brain, "I don't believe you are who you think are! We don't belong here!" She halted, trying to force the anxiety from her mind but it only intensified. With a gulp she abruptly changed course, now heading towards the hospital.

With her efficient mode of rapid walking, she was soon at the hospital's reception and saw a doctor hovering around a console. "I want to know the status of employee 8583." She commanded brusquely.

The doctor raised an eyebrow at the strange, metal scarred and defensive young woman before him, talking as if she owned the place. "I don't know if it's the same where you come from, but _here_ it's customary to say good morning." He remarked.

Annika frowned in irritation, she didn't like being corrected. "Good morning." She obliged him reluctantly before stubbornly repeating her request, though in a softer tone, "I wish to know the status of employee 8583."

Smiling slightly at her effort, the doctor now did as she asked. "Ah, the man who was brought in by security last night, he's being treated on level 6, neural pathology."

"For what?" asked Annika tightly before thinking on her feet to come up with an explanation for her interest, "He came into contact with several workers, some of them are expressing concern."

"Well, tell them not to worry. He's been diagnosed with dysphoria syndrome, a very rare mental illness. It isn't contagious."

Annika swallowed. Mental illness? Could that explain how she'd been feeling? No, it couldn't, it wasn't contagious. "Will he recover?" She asked anxiously, suddenly desperate to speak with her attacker.

"The treatment is complicated but very effective and we happen to have one of the planet's most expert doctors on its diagnosis and treatment working right here at this hospital, so don't worry miss." He reassured her calmly but it didn't completely work on Annika.

They have an expert in a rare mental illness at an industrial hospital? She mentally questioned uneasily but meeting the doctor's expectant eyes she nodded slowly and turned away, catching a flicker of movement in the corner of her eye but ignored it and kept walking, but as she walked she heard heavy footsteps nearby and whirled around to see her pursuer, Amal Kotay."Why are you following me?" she hissed in anger and panic.

At first Amal instinctively stepped back as he was met with her violent glare but he overcame it quickly, somehow, and retorted, "Because _we_, the two of us, experienced something unexplained and it's bothering me, and obviously you too."

"No, it's _not_. That man has a non-contagious mental illness; we have nothing to concern ourselves with…" She tried to brush him off but only succeeded in agitating both of them.

He approached her, determined but strangely non-threatening, actually his closeness eased her in some unexplainable way. "Can you tell me,_ honestly_, that you feel fine? That you feel you belong here?" He questioned urgently, dark eyes flashing.

The word "yes" which she wanted to come from her mouth refused to come as she stared at him. "I don't know! How would you explain this?" she asked desperately, almost pleadingly.

His brow creased in thought. "Is that man's species telepathic or something? Did he do something to us? Are you a mind reader under all that metal?"

Annika bristled. "Under this "metal" as you call it you and I are the same species! I haven't purposely done anything to you!" Seeing him immediately blanch in shame, his handsome face flooding with guilt for a second, Annika impulsively seized his arm and pulled him along with her, "Come." She ordered him in a whisper.

He let her lead him away back towards the power plant, though was unsettled about why that was so easy for him to do. "Where are we going?" he finally asked as he freed his arm from her grip but kept in step with her.

Annika sighed; she couldn't believe she was even considering doing this. "I should have access to his files; we can check what he was doing here." She felt relief seep into her as she saw him nod as they reached the office door. She immediately walked in and went to the console, Amal following her in and shutting the door behind him. "Computer, access the personal file of employee 8583." She ordered sharply.

"Confidential. Security clearance Level 5 or above for access." Amal watched her as she nodded, obviously expecting such a roadblock, and dialled in a few codes. "Security clearance accepted." The Computer now droned.

"Computer, display all files, social and medical, concerning employee 8583's species." Annika commanded again.

"Information unavailable." The Computer replied.

Working on a hunch, Amal joined her at the console. "Ask what files he accessed."

To his surprise, she obeyed him without question. "Computer, display all the files employee 8583 accessed within the last 48 hours."

The Computer paused for a moment before personnel files, with photographs, began to flash up on the screen, "Personnel files. Employee 8577, Kim, Harry. Employee 8578, Paris, Tom. Employee 8579, Kotay, Amal." Amal inhaled sharply and caught Annika staring at him with concern. "Employee 8580, Neelix. Employee 8581, Tal, Ceres. Employee 8582, Flannigan, David. Employee 8583, Torres, B'Elanna. Employee 8584, Janeway, Kathryn. Employee 8585, Chambers, Samuel. Employee 8586, Hansen, Annika. Employee 8587, Anderson, Lydia. Employee 8588, Icheb…" At the last name, which frightened her even more than hearing her own or Amal's, Annika stopped the list of more than a hundred and thirty names in full flow, breathing hard.

"Annika, what are the chances that of all the people in this power plant our names appear on this list?" Amal asked apprehensively.

"One in 23401." She replied quietly without even missing a beat.

"Okay, so not a coincidence then." He muttered, wisely deciding not to ask her how she could do such a sum in her head and instead moving on. "Ask it about dysphoria syndrome…" He began to say but was interrupted by a sudden, blaring alarm. "What's that?" he asked tersely.

"No…" Muttered Annika under her breath as she struggled to deactivate it. "We're going to get security in here any minute if we don't…" He got the message and leaned over to help her but as he heard the door open they both frantically leaned in further in desperation and found their lips connecting in a kiss which instead of being the quick excuse they intended deepened until a security guard's voice broke them apart.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked incredulously as he looked at the embarrassed and dishevelled pair. "Well, I can see what you're doing…"

Annika, her face flushed and her stomach doing backflips, gazed wide eyed at the guard over Amal's shoulder. "I…I'm sorry. I must've…acci…accidently leaned on the alarm…"

The young guard fought the urge to giggle. "Right, sure… Just go back to work okay?"

Amal cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yes sir… We will." They both exhaled in relief as the guard deactivated the alarm and left them alone. Amal looked at her uneasily. "I'm sorry Annika; it was the only excuse I could think of…" He spluttered. "This is a kind of famous hiding place for that sort of thing…"

"Oh." That was all Annika could say as she fought to regain her composure. "It was...an effective diversion…" She mumbled, avoiding his eyes. "I have an access point in my apartment, number 810A. Come after our shifts are over and we'll investigate further." She registered his nod before slipping past him, careful not to touch him as she did so, and hurriedly left, Amal following a few minutes later, rubbing the back of his hand over his tingling lips as he returned to his station.

**A/n: I hope I haven't murdered the episode, or written them **_**horribly**_** out of character (I just **_**had **_**to sneak that kiss in, the idea was just too appealing to ignore!). PLEASE review and tell me what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

Annika frowned in confusion at the computer screen before her, her hopes that in-depth research would allay her suspicions well and truly dashed as she once again scanned the list of personnel files Tuvok had accessed. She sighed bitterly; there were just too many unsolved questions… The doorbell's sharp, insistent ring pulled her from the dark and bottomless well of her own thoughts and brought back more immediate concerns. Why was she even involving this man? If she really did suspect something criminal, if that's even what this was, it would be more rational to involve the police force than a stranger who could do no more to rectify the situation than she could… The doorbell rang once again and this time she forced herself to mutedly say, "Come in."

Amal stepped into the small and dimly lit, yet very minimalist and tidy sitting room, and stamped his dripping shoes on the doormat, struggling to figure out what he could possibly say to this woman, whom he didn't believe would be particularly social at the best of times, under such unusual circumstances. Finally he settled on, "Hi. It's raining really hard out there."

"I can see that." Annika replied quietly, pausing for a second before indicating the computer. "I have discovered information which would appear to substantiate our concerns…"

Amal's brows furrowed for a moment as he thought, are we really sure what our concerns are? From the uncertainty in her voice he knew she wasn't sure what to make of it either and that knowledge was enough to push him in a serious, almost professionally calm, state which impressed Annika as he immediately joined her at the computer. "What did you find out about the people on the list first of all?" he asked her.

"There are one hundred and thirty eight individuals in all, including the two of us. They are all highly skilled and all assigned to the power distribution plant in one way or another…" She trailed off, knowing she had to continue but nervous of the disruption that it may cause in her life.

"Go on." Amal encouraged quietly.

Taking a deep breath, she continued, "85% of the group are the same species, humans from Earth, and we all arrived on the same day."

Amal mulled this new information around in his head for a minute or two before answering, "Over a hundred skilled workers, all from a distant planet no one around here seems to have heard of previously, suddenly arrive en masse during a system wide labour shortage? That strikes me as too convenient to be a coincidence…"

Annika gave a brisk nod, pleased that he was following her train of thought almost exactly. "Precisely. There's more…"

The front door being pushed open interrupted her and Amal was surprised to see a boy in his late teens enter the room, addressing Annika without noticing his presence, "Mother, the electrical engineer has offered me extra training time tonight so I'll not be back until 2130 hours…" The boy paused, seeing his adoptive mother's pink tinged face and finally noticing the stranger standing to the side. "State your reason for being here." He addressed Amal stiffly.

Amal hurriedly stepped forward, hand extended. "Amal Kotay. I'm here to…"

Annika cut in, "He's the new thermal engineer Icheb. I am advising him of the safety and efficiency protocols at the plant."

Icheb assessed Amal with fresh eyes. "A wise undertaking." He commented as Amal now got a proper look at him, underneath the metal he and his mother did not appear to be the same species, although their mannerisms were too similar for him to say there was no resemblance.

Annika seemed to recover herself then, "Remember you are only on an apprenticeship, they are not to overwork you…" She sounded anxious.

Icheb inclined his head. "If I wish to qualify for the next stage of exams I must get work experience."

Annika considered this, "You may go."

Icheb beamed at her. "Thank you Mother!" He snatched up his toolbox and headed back towards the door, "I will not exceed my allotted hours I assure you."

"Good. Have you consumed nutrients?"

If Amal wasn't mistaken he saw Icheb roll his eyes slightly at the question. "An hour ago Mother." He assured her but before leaving his eyes flicked between the pair and Annika saw him arch a brow at her questioningly as he left.

The room was in a dead silence for a few seconds after Icheb's departure before Amal, worried he had kissed a married woman in the heat of the moment, had the courage to say, "You never said you had a son…"

Annika shot him a look. "He's adopted." She stated, as if she'd heard his last thought. "And I never had any reason to tell you." She pointed out before her tone softened as she explained, "We were both Borg drones who were freed, both alone, and so we stayed together."

"How'd you get here?"

"There aren't many planets who would take us, even though neither of us can remember much of our lives as drones." Amal nodded in understanding, suppressing his feeling that she was lying and remembered more of it than she was letting on. "Why did you come here?" she asked suddenly.

Amal shifted uncomfortably, "War, upheaval…" Annika was tempted to ask against whom, thinking of the grey faced aliens she'd seen when she'd touched him, but the hatred that had flooded him at the image still haunted her. Amal quickly changed the subject. "Icheb… His name is on that list, right?"

"He is _not_ to be involved in this!" Annika snapped, eyes flashing protectively.

Amal raised his hands defensively, he'd obviously hit on a raw nerve. "You said you discovered more…"

Ashamed of her outburst, Annika collected herself and beckoned him back over to the computer, setting her mind back firmly on the task at hand, "The files say we were all admitted into the hospital…"

Amal shrugged at her. "Isn't that common practice?"

"Quarantine is yes, but we were all processed through Level 6, neural pathology, and I don't remember being there!"

"Neither do I, why the hell would they… Wait, wasn't Tuvok put through there too? Look up dysphoria syndrome."

Annika pulled the information up and began to read, "Dysphoria syndrome is a very rare degenerative mental health disorder, occurring in less than 0.01% of the Quarran population. Its symptoms include, headaches, nausea, mood swings, memory loss, confusion and hallucinations. The foremost expert in this field of study is Dr Kadan of Central Industrial Hospital No. 1…"

"That's our guy." Amal commented, "Keep going, what does he do?"

Annika continued, "Dr Kadan has very successfully pioneered an effective treatment for dysphoria syndrome…" As her eyes settled on the next words her breath caught in her throat and her face drained of colour.

"Annika?" Amal questioned in concern, his hand brushing her shoulder, "What is it?"

Annika inhaled deeply and turned away from the screen to look him directly in the eyes. "His recommended treatment is memory engram re-sequencing."

**A/n: A short chapter but I hope its okay. Please review! Hopefully I'll update "Fascination" or "Consequences" tomorrow.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/n: Thanks to Mtwapa for telling me about "Perfect" by SpacedOutAnna, a cute C/7 fic which is now on the community and also for teaching me how to insert line breaks. (Now I look at all my old chapters and bemoan at how unclear the change of time and place is, sorry everyone!)**

"His recommended treatment is memory engram re-sequencing." Annika told Amal shakily, pointing out the paragraph on the screen for him to read when he stared at her in incredulous disbelief.

However, no matter how many times Amal read and re-read the information, he still couldn't fully process what she could possibly be getting at. Unconsciously stepping back from her and inhaling deeply to try to calm himself, he finally managed to ask, "Are you saying he induces _amnesia_ in these people?"

Annika's hands slid from the computer keyboard and into her lap, twisting them uneasily as she spoke, "At least partially yes, but it's apparently the only way to cure the symptoms…"

"I wouldn't call forgetting parts of your life a _cure_." Amal remarked harshly.

Annika glanced at him, surprised at the strength of his reaction, before saying in a more level tone, "It is an ability which would be frighteningly easy to abuse."

Amal took stock of this, heavily sitting down on the nearest chair before holding Annika in a serious gaze, "And do you think we're both victims of this abuse?"

Annika clenched her jaw as she met his brooding eyes and answered, "It's possible…" She murmured unhappily before pulling back from him again. "Of course we could both be suffering a relapse of dysphoria syndrome…"

Amal frowned at her avoidance of the issue, "And how likely is that?" he questioned. Her answer was an irritated glare but he just ignored that and returned to studying the computer. "All these people, coming in on the same day, maybe there's ship records?"

"A logical assumption." Annika agreed noncommittally, beginning a new search through the database. After a few minutes of reading through shipping lists, Annika's lips pursed anxiously once again. "There's no record of _any _of the people on Tuvok's list ever travelling here by a registered transport, not the day we supposedly arrived, or any other.

"That can't be!" Amal exclaimed. "I remember…" His voice petered out into a groan as the hot, searing pain once again drilled into his brain, bringing unwelcome visions along with it…

He was standing in the centre of a room, no a ship's Bridge… There was a huge viewscreen directly in front of him which revealed asteroids directly ahead…no minefields, a voice in his confused brain corrected. Suddenly an explosion reverberated in his ears and as his body rocked and fought to maintain its balance he heard a strangely familiar female voice at his side, shrill but commanding, "This is the Federation starship U.S.S Voyager, disable these mines…"

"Amal! Amal!" Annika's voice was slightly edged with panic as she shook him by the shoulders. She felt relief rush through her as his eyes lost the far away, glassy expression and returned to normal, peering at her in confusion. Concernedly she rested her fingers momentarily under his chin as she asked, "Are you alright?"

Amal tried to smile to reassure her but his mind was too preoccupied with what he'd seen. "I…I think I just had another…flashback, if that's what they are." He shook his head in attempt to clear the bleary mental fog but one thing from the vision stuck with him. "Search for Voyager…"

"Voyager?" Annika echoed blankly before her eyes narrowed, "What's that?"

"A ship…I think." Agitated by her unconvinced expression he said in a low tone, "Just do it Annika."

Annika sighed but turned back to the computer without another word, although part of her was disturbed about why she hadn't questioned the order, for an order was what it had been. "Voyager…" She muttered as she typed the name in, doubting she would get anything so even more surprised when an entry popped up almost immediately, "There's a starship Voyager in the salvage yard just outside the power complex…" She caught Amal's eye in fearful disbelief, "It was found the day we arrived."

"Then our answers lie there." Amal replied with unshakable conviction.

* * *

The Doctor pushed his sonic screwdriver in behind the wiring of the wall console, according to his new programming; if he could get access here he could override whatever measures these pirates had put in place… Suddenly the console short circuited, blasting the screwdriver out of his hand. "Damn!" muttered the Doctor in frustration, that was the third panel this morning! You'd think the programmers of the ECH would have incorporated more engineering protocols but obviously not… He bolted behind a wide bulkhead as he heard voices from around the corner.

The two men, he guessed engineers from their toolboxes, went straight to the damaged console. "Another one, this ship's like a ghost ship!" muttered one of the men grumpily as he set to work.

"You just don't understand such advanced technology…" His companion teased.

"Yeah well maybe I don't entirely, but that's why we're taking it apart. Why'd the crew abandon it anyway?"

The second man shrugged. "Apparently the crew all got jobs over at the power plant."

The first man laughed as the Doctor's head reeled in confusion, "Well, let's hope they don't make our power supply as temperamental as this ship!"

They continued on but the Doctor stopped listening, they made this all sound voluntary! What the hell was going on here?

* * *

"You made me you assistant?" asked Amal incredulously as he glanced over Annika's shoulder at the pad she was holding as they walked hurriedly towards the salvage yard the morning after the talk in Annika's apartment.

Annika flung him a cutting look, "If the arrangement is unsatisfactory to you, then _you _find a plausible way to get us in!" she said sharply.

Amal smiled sheepishly, hands raised in defence. "Okay, okay. I'm grateful, really. I could probably do a lot worse than your assistant…"

Annika smirked as she replied, "You are correct. I _was_ going to make you the waste disposal coordinator but that would have separated us during a possibly volatile situation."

"I'm all for staying together then!" Amal laughed, finding that he was enjoying her dry wit despite himself. Abruptly his demeanour changed as he saw the guards at the yard's entrance. "That's overkill for just a salvage yard isn't it?" he whispered near her ear.

Annika gulped and pulled out her pad, holding their precious permission to be there as she murmured, "I suggest we proceed with caution." She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye as she focused on the guard directly in front of her. "Good morning." She began stiffly, remembering what the doctor had said to her at the hospital, "My assistant and I…" she indicated Amal, who nodded respectfully at the guard, "…are here to run an efficiency inspection on the premises, check if safety procedures are being followed, targets are being met and so on…"

The guard looked them over sceptically, "You don't have an appointment Miss Hansen."

"What would be the point of a surprise inspection if you knew we were coming?" Annika replied icily.

The guard blushed, giving the pad only a cursory glance before handing it back to her. "Please go on in ma'am." He mumbled. Amusement and relief flickered across Annika's face as she swept past him, Amal hurriedly following in her wake.

As they stepped into the warehouse Amal asked her curiously, "How'd you get permission to get in here anyway?"

Annika flushed in guilt, not wanting him to think her dishonest. "I didn't. I forged these papers."

"So all that was just a bluff?" he asked, trying not to feel impressed.

Annika shifted away from him awkwardly as she nodded shyly, "I will find out which ship is Voyager…"

Amal grabbed her forearm tightly and pointed ahead as a spectacular vessel caught his eye. "I think I already know. There it is."

* * *

The Doctor paced anxiously around Sickbay, mulling around his options as he had every morning since the ship had been captured. Should he try to make a run for it and see what was happening? That would mean abandoning the ship, the one thing he'd promised the Captain he wouldn't do, but with the crew apparently being used as slave labour what other options were open to him? He jumped violently as Sickbay's door opened and was about to try and hide as best he could when he was met with a familiar face staring at him in shock. "Oh, thank God! Seven!" he exclaimed excitedly, immediately going to her but she backed away, her eyes clouded with distrust as the Doctor registered Commander Chakotay behind Seven, in a stance like a bodyguard. "Seven…" he murmured, reaching for her arm in concern but both of his crewmates tensed.

"Who's Seven?" She asked sharply as she wrenched her arm away, staring at him as she would a total stranger.

**A/n: Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Who's Seven?" Annika said sharply, unable to keep an accusatory note from her voice as she wrenched her arm away from the balding and strangely dressed man before her, instinctively backing away from him and closer to Amal who was directly at her back, his fists already clenched in pre-emptive defensiveness.

The man clumsily stumbled back, vivid hurt crossing his features before deeply etched confusion settled on his face as he responded, "What do you mean? _You're_ Seven…"

Annika glared at him fearfully as an unexplained panic gripped her, "No… No!" She exclaimed, shaking her head vigorously, "My name is _Annika_. I don't know to whom you are referring, but…"

Seeing, from much past experience, that Seven's flight or fight reflex was beginning to kick in, the Doctor decided to play along, smiling gently at the bewildered woman, "Annika… Annika Hansen, right?"

Seven's face paled for a moment and the Doctor saw her and Commander Chakotay share a split second glance before she warily replied, "Yes… How do you know that?"

"I…I think we need to have a talk." The Doctor said as calmly as he could, "Come in, please." When neither moved, he ushered them in with welcoming hand motions. "Come on, I won't bite you…" He coaxed, trying his best not to sound impatient.

After a few long seconds, the Doctor was relieved to see Seven stepping inside, the Commander instantly following, the doors thankfully closing tight behind them. Amal frowned at the other man, peering at his tricorder, "What are you? I don't read any lifesigns in this room, apart from Annika and me."

The Doctor uttered a choking gasp of shock. Chakotay too? This wasn't what he'd been hoping for… Finally, just as fresh distrust was forming on their faces, the Doctor decided to be as truthful as he could, without freaking them out hopefully, until he found out what was wrong with them. "I'm a hologram, Voyager's Emergency Medical Programme to be exact."

"And your programme records us as patients?" Annika asked pensively as her eyes scanned the room for traps and escape routes.

The Doctor tried not to be irritated by the way she was addressing him, like a machine! "Yes, I _remember _you two perfectly well. We all lived on this ship together, until we ran into the mine field on the edge of this system, the whole crew was captured and Voyager taken for salvage!"

He was staring to think he'd been a little too brief with his explanation as disbelief crossed both Chakotay's and Seven's features but then Chakotay grabbed Seven by the arm and pulled her away, where they began whispering intensely, irritatingly out of his earshot.

Amal led Annika to the other side of the room, leaning into her ear as he hissed, "We were right! We were kidnapped for labour! Our memories have been altered…"

Annika cut him off sharply, "That theory was farfetched in the first place and is now even more so! How do we know that we can trust this hologram? It would be easier to alter _his_ programming rather than our memories, you must admit!" She saw his confidence waver on his face and pressed further, "What possible reason would anybody have for travelling aimlessly through the quadrant anyway?" She questioned, glaring at the holographic doctor over her shoulder, as deep seated fears began to reassert themselves.

"To return home." Amal answered with a certainty which shook even his own confused brain, but he knew it was the truth and he could tell from Annika's face that his words had revealed a truth for her too. He gave her slightly shaking shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Listen… I know that is _really_ disturbing but you have to admit that it explains all of what we've discovered and…this ship, I know it, somehow…" He stopped as he found her unreadable gaze on his face. "Let's at least here him out…" He began to reason but her head had already bowed in reluctant submission.

"If you insist, I will listen to him." She muttered, the sentence punctuated with a reluctant sigh.

"Thank you." He replied with knowing sarcasm as she joined him in returning to the hologram, who was frowning at them in agitation.

"How about you tell me what you do remember?" The Doctor suggested, his hands on his hips as they finally ended their little amnesiacs' conference.

Annika sighed, this doctor wasn't exactly a shining example of patience, there must be some fault in his programme… "Amal and I's memories are far from intact Doctor, fragmented at most, we both felt there was something wrong after Tuvok was taken so we began to investigate…"

"You remember Tuvok?" asked the Doctor hopefully, while feeling slightly miffed that the security officer was more memorable than he was.

Annika shook her head regretfully, "He did something to me…" she whispered, gulping audibly, "He grabbed my head and I saw things…"

"He gave you a mind meld!" The Doctor exclaimed, "Brilliant! Did he do that to you too Commander?"

"Commander?" Amal echoed, but the Doctor waved the question away, expecting an answer to his. "Well no, not exactly…" Amal said, meeting Annika's eyes nervously, whatever had happened between them seemed too…_intimate_ to tell this man who still felt like a stranger.

"Well what did they do to him?" The Doctor moved on, although he sensed the pair weren't telling him something, in fact every dynamic that he'd ever seen between had, rather unnervingly, changed.

"They said he needed treatment for dysphoria syndrome." Annika replied, "That's the cover they seem to use for altering people's memories."

The Doctor inhaled sharply, "Right." He muttered in understatement before picking up a tricorder, "May I scan you?" They both nodded. Even with what he knew the resulting brain scans still shocked him. "Some memory engrams have been left untouched but others have been radically altered or even completely replaced…"

He noticed them each reaching for the other's hand before Chakotay asked the question he'd been dreading, "Will we recover our real memories?"

"You've already begun to, which is very encouraging. I believe I could synthesise a drug to help the progress but it'd take some time…" He paused thoughtfully, "Maybe if I showed you familiar things here, you would…"

"I doubt we have time for a trip down memory lane Doctor! The crew's in danger!" Amal suddenly said sharply, though he was unsure where the outburst had come from.

The Doctor chuckled, "Our First Officer's obviously still in there somewhere! You'll get no argument from me, but how are we meant to find the rest of the crew and convince them to come back?"

"The hospital's files would certainly list…" Annika began to point out, a plan beginning to form in her mind.

The Doctor was about to object but Amal got in first, "No! You're not going anywhere near there, it's the lion's den…"

"Do you have any better ideas?" Annika retorted, "And besides, if I'm a voluntary patient I can just walk out."

"It's still too dangerous!" Amal reiterated angrily.

"It'll get too dangerous for everyone else if I don't do it!" She stated bluntly, before turning her back on him to face the Doctor, who was watching this spectacle in utter disbelief. "Do you have access to the ship's transports from here Doctor?"

"I tried to wire them through…" The Doctor said, indicating his console, which she immediately went to, with a sigh. Events, and his two crewmembers, were obviously well out of his control, amnesia or no amnesia.

* * *

After a while Annika got up off her knees and handed two small devices to the Doctor with a sigh of satisfaction. "What are these?" The Doctor asked curiously as Amal remained silent, still not on board with the plan.

"Sub dermal communication devices. You can also use them to lock onto us for transport." Annika explained as Amal looked on.

The Doctor laughed softly as he put the device in the flesh on the back of her human hand. "You know you could have replicated comm. badges."

"Insufficient." She replied coolly.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at her and glanced at Chakotay, "You can take the girl out of the Collective but you can't take the Collective out of the girl." He joked but both of them stared at him blankly. "Okay but I expect a laugh when you get your memories back."

Annika nodded slowly. "I must go, the hospital will be closing imminently." With that she turned towards the door but Amal grabbed her arm.

"I'm coming with you." He stated.

"That would raise suspicions Amal." Annika repeated the mantra she'd been telling herself since she'd thought of the plan, it was just too dangerous for anyone but her to attempt.

"I know but that doesn't mean I…" He whispered.

"I will exercise the utmost care." She assured him gently. "You are needed here, to convince the crew, I don't think I have the best skills set for _that_ task. They will believe you, I did."

Amal laughed weakly and let go of her arm, trying to suppress his feelings of doom as she disappeared from view.

**A/n: Sorry about the wait for this, I had writer's block for this chapter (I wrote "Perspectives" instead) so I hope it's not too bad. Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

The young blonde woman shifted nervously on the biobed as he approached, but Ravoc could forgive that, voluntary patients were often unsettled, even ashamed, by their visit to neural pathology. He saw putting those people at ease as the one of the most important factors in his job as a doctor, after all pioneering research only worked if you could convince people to accept help. "I'm Doctor Ravoc, one of the neural pathologists. How can I help you today miss?" he asked the woman in his most pleasant tone.

Annika swallowed and curled her fingers tensely around the edge of the bed, it was now or never. At least she didn't have to pretend to be nervous, she already was. For some inexplicable reason it had been much easier to be confident in her plans when she'd had Amal to back her up… She pushed these irrelevant considerations to the back of her mind as the young doctor's eyes began to peer at her in gentle concern at her silence. Taking a deep breath in, she took the plunge, internally praying all the while that this would work. "Recently I have been experiencing…some disturbing thoughts." She said though tensely gritted teeth before jerking her head up to look Ravoc in the eye as she shakily said, "I do not believe it is anything serious…but I do think I should speak to someone…"

Ravoc smiled warmly at her, giving her a quick pat on the arm for reassurance. "You're in the right place, you can trust me." Annika shivered in unfeigned emotion. Can I? She questioned silently, but hid her true feelings in a watery smile as he headed for his console. "Can you tell me your name and employee number, Miss…"

"Hansen." Annika filled in quickly, "Annika Hansen, employee number 8586."

Ravoc nodded to her and dialled in the details, recoiling slightly in surprise at what he read before looking at her again. "You work at the power plant, right?" When she nodded, he paused in thought for several seconds, "Would you characterise these thoughts as hallucinations?"

Annika wasn't sure how best to respond to that and hedged, "I am uncertain…" She observed his expression upon hearing her reply and decided to risk pressing him. "Why do you ask?"

"You've been a patient here before…" Ravoc started cautiously.

"When I first arrived. Do you think there's something wrong with me?"

"You were treated for dysphoria syndrome .It seems you may have suffered a relapse…"

Annika cut him off. "What is this _syndrome_? I've never heard of it…"

"It's quite rare, but treatable…" When he saw her tense up even further he started again in his kindest and most pacifying tone, "I wouldn't worry, we have one of the foremost doctors on this condition working right here in this hospital…"

"I wish to speak with this _expert_." Annika could hardly keep the venom out of the last word, since she knew he was the one responsible for all this.

"Dr Kadan is very busy…" Ravoc began apprehensively, something told him this woman wouldn't let go so easily.

"I am also very busy." Annika retorted sharply, with a dismissive sniff for good measure, "Perhaps I should return when he's free…" She began to get off the biobed to show her false determination to leave and then, just as she'd hoped, Ravoc held her back.

"No… I'll go see if I can find him. Wait here." She nodded slowly, unable to stop herself from feeling a little guilty as he visibly relaxed and smiled at her before leaving, but as soon as he was gone she hopped off the biobed and headed straight for the console with a sigh of relief. Yet she was surprised by how clear her head felt as she began to run through the database, almost as if she were used to pulling off these dangerous and farfetched plans, what kind of strange life did she lead on Voyager?

* * *

The Doctor's train of thought was unceremoniously halted as the Commander paced past him once again in a state of high agitation. "Commander, will you stop that please? I'm trying to concentrate!"

Amal stopped abruptly and glared at the hologram. "She's been away over an hour! Can you honestly tell me you're _not_ worried?" He saw the Doctor bite his lips unhappily and his frown deepened, glancing down at the back of his hand, where he knew Annika had hidden a comm. device.

The Doctor read his mind. "It would put her in danger to call her." He advised, although he couldn't help thinking how strange it was that the normally cool and collected Commander was so agitated about Seven, perhaps whatever had been done to him had played around with his brain chemistry even more than he'd suspected… Or it could be that Amal feels differently about Annika than Chakotay feels about Seven… Any spark of truth in this thought was quickly smothered by the Doctor's jealousy as Amal spoke to him again.

"Well, what do _you_ suggest I do? I'm not exactly useful around here…"

"You could go out and look for the others…" The Doctor muttered under his breath in irritation but was surprised when Amal's eyes lit up at the idea. "I didn't mean…" The Doctor began to retract shamefacedly.

"We _need_ help Doctor." Amal pointed out as he moved to the console. "Show me personnel logs." He ordered.

The Doctor reluctantly pulled up some records. "If you really want to do this…"

Amal nodded sharply and began to run through the records. He halted in recognition at two side by side. "I know these two…" He said, pointing at the pictures. "She's the pregnant woman who works near me and he's the waiter at the bar…"

The Doctor smiled. "B'Elanna Torres, our chief engineer, and Tom Paris, our pilot. The only married couple on the ship as yet…"

Amal uttered a laugh of surprise. "_They're_ married? Well, I suppose that explains all the freebies he's been giving her…"

The Doctor smiled proudly. "Some feelings transcend even amnesia it seems."

Amal's smile became wistful. "Yeah, I hope so…"

The Doctor had an idea then and hurriedly pulled up the Captain's file. "Do you recognise her?" He felt shock course through him as Amal's face darkened. "What?"

Amal shook his head dismissively, his face once again unreadable. "Nothing." He snatched up a tricorder, "With 136 people to find, I'd better start looking shouldn't I?" With that he left Sickbay, leaving the Doctor even more confused than before.

* * *

Amal put his hand over his eyes to shield them from the bright midday sun as he stepped back outside, hurrying across the scrubland which separated the salvage yard from the power plant. Just as he entered the plant and headed towards the workstations where he knew he'd find the Doctor's crew, _his _crew, he reminded himself, a face flashed back him and before he knew what he was doing a name had left his lips, "B'Elanna?"

She turned back at the sound of her name, peering at him curiously. "Yes?"

It was her! Immediately hurrying towards her, he asked, "B'Elanna? B'Elanna Torres?"

She nodded at him but backed away slightly at his eagerness, "That's me. Do I know you?"

"Yes! I'm Am…" He stopped himself, "I'm Chakotay, we know each other and I need you to come with me." His hand closed gently around her arm. "I know this is going to be hard for you to believe but we don't belong here…"

B'Elanna stared down at his hand for several seconds, her voice shaky when she finally spoke, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about and I really have to go…"

"You're in danger B'Elanna! You have to believe me!" Amal told her firmly, his tone becoming increasingly desperate. "Look, I know this sounds weird but…"

"You have no idea mister!" she snapped, beginning to fight him as Amal struggled to hold her.

Finally he remembered his transceiver and activated it. "Doctor, I have B'Elanna, do a transport!"

"Transport?" B'Elanna repeated in a shriek before screaming, "Help! Help me!"

"B'Elanna, I'm not going to hurt you…" Amal pleaded, gasping as security guards appeared, feeling the tug of a transporter just as they fired a shot which slammed into his shoulder forcing him to fall to the ground just as B'Elanna disappeared. "Doctor!" He shouted into the transceiver in panic as he forced himself upright and shocked guards began to yell and run for him, but the Doctor gave no response and he had to run for his life, bolting into the very depths of the power machinery to hide as phaser fire flashed overhead.

**A/n: I hope this is a passable chapter, please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Amal twisted around a large container, his fleeing feet having to pause as he realised that ahead of him there was only the overhang looking out over the main hall of the power plant, no cover whatsoever. He glanced around frantically for an escape route, finally seeing a small maintenance corridor out of the corner of his eye but before he could turn towards it a hot, searing pain tore at his side and as he buckled over from the shock and agony he heard cries of triumph from his pursuers, much closer behind him than he'd thought. His judgement clouded with pain, he bolted forward blindly, only coming to his senses when his legs slammed into the balcony's barrier and his mind registered the steep drop below. With a gasp he looked behind him, within seconds they'd see him and he'd either be dragged off for questioning or shot dead on the spot. Focusing his mind for a moment on the barrier, he made his decision and vaulted over it, ignoring the pain which surged through him as he concentrated on keeping his grip of the thin ledge from which he hung precariously and holding his body so that it couldn't be seen from above. He heard a young guard reach the edge and call, "He's not here! Call the medics; I think he might have jumped…" Amal made his move and forced himself to climb, with lightning speed, back up the barrier and threw all his strength into punching the man lights out before swinging himself back over, almost collapsing onto the unconscious man's body as his own body screamed for relief but he had enough presence of mind to gather himself back up and bolt down the maintenance corridor without being seen.

* * *

"Commander! Can you hear me?" The Doctor shouted frantically down the comm. line as he heard phaser fire in the background. He swore vehemently as he realised that the signal had already cut out. At that moment the buzz of the transporter filled the room but his relief was short lived as only a screaming and panic stricken B'Elanna materialised with Chakotay nowhere in sight. Her huge eyes swivelled around Sickbay in terror but the sight of the door propelled her forward and, unfortunately for her, straight into the well prepared Doctor's arms. "Lieutenant, I know this is confusing for you but…" He tried to explain as she violently fought his grip.

"_Confusing_?" she shrieked incredulously. "You've _kidnapped _me!" With that she pulled up her leg and kneed him between the legs, her face blanching in disbelief as his only reaction was surprise rather than the anticipated agony and, with her panic now deepening even further, she lashed out with everything she had, "_LET ME GO_!" she screamed breathlessly.

For once, the Doctor was glad he was a hologram, if he'd been a real human male that would have really hurt, but as it was he dragged her to the biobed, grasping around for his antidote hypospray as he did so. "Lieutenant, stop this! It's not good for your baby!" He told her with difficulty as she tried to scratch him. Guilt pulled at him as he finally succeeded injecting the hypospray into her neck.

"No…" She began to choke out before slumping forward into unconsciousness. After gently laying her out on the biobed and checking her over, he ran an exasperated hand over his forehead, God, I hope it gets a little easier than that, he thought silently as his thoughts moved anxiously back to his other crewmates, still in extreme danger.

* * *

Amal leaned against the wall with a ragged gasp, disturbed to see that he'd left behind a trail of blood and that it was now pooling at his feet, the gaping wound in his side throbbing constantly. He couldn't just stagger around until he collapsed, he realised, he had to find a place to hide and, hopefully, treat this wound before he thought of anything else. It was far too dangerous to return to Voyager, if he was found there the whole plan would be discovered and they were all done for, he doubted he could get back into the salvage yard without Annika's help anyway… Nausea and dizziness interrupted his train of thought for a moment but it soon returned to Annika, he hoped she'd gotten out of that hospital alright, there was no way he could help her now. He considered going to her quarters but quickly dismissed the thought as selfish, it was too big a risk for both her and Icheb and besides, her quarters were situated at the other side of the complex, there was no way he'd get there in one piece. Well, what are my other options? He thought to himself in frustration, wracking his memory for somewhere… His eyes blearily wandered, eventually falling on an out of use thermal control panel, and suddenly a face, accompanied by an idea, surged into his brain.

By sheer luck he remembered a conversation between "Miss Level Six" as he still mentally called her, even though he now knew she was really his commanding officer, and Jaffen about her moving into his apartment and he recalled Annika reeling off the addresses of the Voyager crew, maybe… He stopped mid stumble and glanced up at the street code before peering into the darkened apartment's windows, it certainly _looked_ uninhabited and that was all he needed. With a pain wracked groan he pressed his shoulder against the heavy door, feeling insanely grateful when it opened easily, it was in fact unlocked. Too cautious to switch on the lights, he groped around the cupboards in the dark for a med kit but the place was bare, he found nothing. Oh God, he thought distantly as blood again appeared at his feet, I'll need to find somewhere else now… Despite this thought, before he knew it his body had sagged against the wall and slid to the floor, and he was too drained to even try to get back up.

* * *

Annika walked as quickly as she thought she could without raising questions, her mind reeling from all the information she'd absorbed in the hospital, she now knew this whole sick scheme was much bigger than either she or Amal had ever considered… She was jerked from her thoughts by the blare of a loudspeaker near her ear. "Workers, this is a law enforcement bulletin. Amal Kotay, Employee number 8379, is on the run after the disappearance of B'Elanna Torres. He is dangerous and should not be approached under any circumstance, if you see him call the Police immediately on…"

Annika's head snapped up in horror to see Amal's face plastered across the computer screen above her head. "No…" She choked out, stopping herself when her exclamation garnered some odd looks from the workers around her and quickly darting into a quiet corner, pressing down on the sub-dermal comm. device in her hand, "Amal? Amal, this is Annika, respond." She was met with silence, not even static could be heard on the other end. "Please Amal…" She pleaded desperately, feeling tears of fear and worry prick at her eyes when even that brought no reply. "Oh God, where are you?" she muttered under her breath, glancing down again at her hand, the comm. device did have a tracer in it, but she'd need to activate it somehow… Rashly she pulled a knife out of her pocket and dug it determinedly into her flesh, thankfully retrieving the device almost immediately and beginning to tamper with it before even attending to her bleeding hand, biting on her lip on suppress the pain and throwing the knife away. The pain was worth it though, as a small red light confirmed that the tracer was active. "Yes!" she exclaimed in relief before setting off to find him.

* * *

Amal found his gaze dreamily focusing on the ever increasing size of the red stain he was lying on as he drifted in and out of consciousness. I really should try to get up, he thought again, weakly attempting to get his legs to take his weight but they shook and gave out, just as the sound of the door made him tense with fear and back away further into the shadows. He wasn't hidden entirely from sight however, "Amal?"

"Amal?" Annika repeated again as she slammed the door closed behind her and switched on the light. "Oh no…" She gasped in horror as she saw him fully. He was collapsed against a wall, both it and the carpet surrounding him soaked scarlet with blood. "What happened?" she cried out as she ran over and sank to her knees beside him, only now seeing the full extent of the gaping hole in his side.

"Shot…" He mumbled distractedly, his skin gleaming feverishly and his dark eyes glazed over with pain.

"I can see that…" Annika mumbled, utterly distraught, before gently trying to lift him up. "Come on, you need the Doctor _now_…"

He finally seemed to focus on her. "Annika?" he whispered brokenly.

Annika found herself stroking his damp face. "Yes, it's me. You…you're going to be fine…"

"I…" Amal began to croak out but Annika put her hand firmly to his lips.

"Shh… Don't try to talk. I'm going to help you…" She soothed desperately, despite her own feelings of fear.

"What the _hell_ is going on here?" A new voice exclaimed suddenly and Annika turned to see a shocked auburn haired woman standing in the doorway, staring at them in horror.

**A/n: Please review! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/n: A BIG thank you to lisac1965 for putting up a super cute chapter of "The Little Girl" last night! :D This chapter is for you.**

"What the _hell_ is going on here?" Annika gulped as she stared at the woman who had discovered them, her brain functions freezing as she struggled to conjure up a viable explanation for why she and Amal were in these quarters, which were obviously not as abandoned as they had believed. "Well?" The woman repeated with frustrated incredulity, her hand tightening around the door frame as Amal groaned in pain, "What's wrong with him? _Answer _me!"

Feeling Amal's grip on her fingers tighten urgently, Annika decided it would be best to be honest, despite the fact that the woman was practically accusing at her, it wasn't as if she had much choice. Glancing down at Amal worriedly, then back into the eyes of the intruder, she said simply, "He was shot."

"_Shot_?" The woman echoed, her eyes moving skittishly for a moment before she moved cautiously towards them, the pity which filled her face when she saw Amal's wound making a sharp retreat as she recognised him. "He's…he's the one who kidnapped that engineer!" She backed away again, "It was the _police_ that shot him…" She choked out in realisation, "Get out of my apartment before I call security!"

"You can't do that Captain!" Annika cried pleadingly, "Please…" She stopped in her tracks as she registered the woman's startled glare and considered her spur of the moment words, Captain? Did she know this woman? Now that she took a closer, more objective look into the woman's face she saw that they were both the same species, human, although the woman was of course lacking her Borg implants. If she _was_ from Voyager then she must be trustworthy on some level…

Her musings were interrupted by the woman's shrill voice, "Why did you just call me that?"

Annika set her teeth, "Because that is what you are, you are Captain Kathryn Janeway." She herself was surprised how certain she felt and sounded and judging by the way Janeway's mouth fell open, at least part of her statement must have hit home. "But that is irrelevant for now…" She continued quickly as Janeway's disbelief changed to fear. "Amal…Chakotay…" She murmured indicating Amal but trying out the name the Doctor had used in the dim hope that it triggered some latent memory, "…didn't kidnap B'Elanna, he _rescued _her. There's a ship, the Voyager, its crew were brought here against their will, their…our…" She gulped hard, thinking back to what she'd discovered in the hospital, "Our memories were tampered with, Chakotay and I's memories recovered enough to realise so…"

Janeway uttered a broken laugh, crouched defensively low but peering at her curiously, "And you think I'm a member of your crew?" She questioned in a low, interrogative tone.

Annika took a deep breath. "It's…probable." She conceded quietly.

Janeway stared at her with an unreadable expression for such a long time that Annika began to believe her words had struck a chord but as Amal's painful cough broke the silence, Janeway seemed to snap out of it, shaking her head. "No, _no_, it's impossible. I have a _life _here…" She said in firm denial, rising off of her knees and rubbing her eyes as she looked down at them, "Look, just get out of here and I won't report you…"

Annika however, wasn't paying attention on her as she saw blood begin to trickle from Amal's mouth and glared back at the woman, standing up to her full, imposing height and grabbing Janeway's wrist in an iron grip, "I don't care if you believe anything I just said, but you can't just leave a man dying on the floor!" Without breaking eye-contact she pulled a small key from her pocket and pressed it securely into the other woman's hand. "Use that to get a med kit from the plant and bring it here."

Janeway fought the instinctive intimidation she felt in the face of this strange woman, her steely blue eyes practically sparking angered, indignant lightning as she stood protectively over the crumpled heap of a man but somehow her hand closed around the key, almost against her will, "Fine." The relief that crossed Annika's face made her appear almost childish and she immediately let go of Janeway's arm, only to be surprised when the other woman held firm, looking at her coldly, "If you want my advice, take that poor man to the hospital and both of you forget about this madness."

"Then I would be living a lie." Annika replied with strangely calm sincerity. She sank back onto her knees as Janeway nodded, understanding unexpectedly crossing her features as she left, hopefully to do her task and save Amal's life.

* * *

The few minutes ticked by like hours as Annika cradled Amal's head on her lap, consumed by anxiety and fear as she watched him drift in and out of consciousness, oh God, maybe the Captain had been right… She stopped that thought in its tracks, what was the point of thinking like that _now_? If the aforementioned Captain didn't return soon then she'd need to look for help herself… With slow care she tried to move away from him but he gasped out, "No, don't…le…leave…"

"I have to! The Captain hasn't returned and you need…" Annika began to explain desperately.

Amal laughed weakly, the sound ending in an agonising cough. "She'll…come back…" Even in his weakened state he was still able to read the doubt on her face, "She _will_ Seven…"

Annika felt tears of fear and frustration begin to spill down her cheeks, "_Don't_ call me that… What good has all this done _you,_ or either of us?" She choked out brokenly, not even lifting her head as she heard footsteps.

Janeway paused halfway into the room, stunned to see ghostly tear tracks shimmering on the blonde's pale face, although she wasn't sure why, it wasn't as if she_ knew _the woman, she could cry and the drop of a hat for all she knew. "Here." She finally said monosyllabically, extending the med kit out to her but drawing back when she saw the man's worsened state, sickened by an unknown fear. "He's not…dead?" she whispered, disturbed by the inexplicable grief in her voice.

"No." Annika replied stoically as she set to work with a dermal regenerator, "You may go now." She dismissed her without looking up.

"But…" Janeway began before asking herself why she was refusing to leave the presence of two fugitives and closing her mouth, leaving the apartment as quickly as she could.

* * *

Gradually Amal's wounds stopped bleeding and even shrank under the influence of the technology, his mind fully returning to him as Annika helped him sit up. "That's the best I can do, you still need to see the Doctor…" She trailed off, feeling intensely grateful for the first aid classes at the plant, though she doubted they'd been intended to serve victims of phaser fire. She winced with him as he stood up painfully, "Are you sure you can walk?" she asked anxiously.

"Yeah, and even if I couldn't, we can't just sit here." He answered calmly but allowed himself to lean on her slightly as he stepped forward. "Why did you let her go? She might go to the authorities…"

Annika frowned questioningly at him, "You were the one who told me she'd come through on the med kit and she did…"

"I knew she wouldn't let me _die_ but as for anything else…" He muttered regretfully.

"Well, we have no choice but to trust her now." Annika reminded him, "Come on, let's go."

* * *

Janeway walked blindly, just putting one foot in front of another, lost in thought. Why had she helped them? Why did she feel so worried now? What she said happened is utterly impossible… The tight grasp of hands around her shoulders made her jump violently but a familiar voice comforted her fears, "Hey Kathryn, it's just me! Where have you been? I thought you were getting stuff from your apartment but…"

Her head jolted upright to see that it was Jaffen who was holding her, peering at her in concern. "Jaffen…" She began weakly, feeling tears of her own prick her eyes, "Something happened, something I really don't understand…"

Jaffen's arm immediately went round her shoulders, "Hey, we'll talk about it at home, okay?"

"Yes, we will." She replied quietly as he pulled her into their apartment.

**A/n: This chapter isn't very good but please review! :D I've written a new Voyager one-shot called "Fatherhood", it's not C/7 (although they are together in it) but P/T, I hope you read it too. **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/n: I'm so sorry; it's been almost two months since I updated this! I'm so ashamed! On a brighter note, I'm now a registered beta reader for C/7 stories, so if you want my help just PM me. I'm not sure why anybody would want my help, but the offer is there.**

"Where do you think we should go?" Amal asked Annika quietly as they walked as quickly as his injuries could allow through the complex's dimly lit maintenance corridors.

Annika gave her head an indecisive shake as she stopped to make Amal take a breather, letting him lean on her more before she answered, "I've never had a firm plan Amal. Perhaps we should try to free Tuvok from the hospital…"

Amal frowned at her incredulously, "We _do _need to rescue him, but not now. There's no way we could do it with just the two of us, we would be throwing ourselves into the arms of security."

Annika bit her bit unhappily for a moment before nodding her head in reluctant acceptance. "We should return to Voyager then, and get a hopefully no longer amnesiac B'Elanna to help us; if she were to return then security would leave you alone."

Amal gently freed himself from her hold and supported his weakened body on a large storage barrel while reading her expression carefully. "True, that would be very helpful…" He admitted, "…but really what are our chances of being able to get on Voyager and then back on again without being detected?"

Annika sighed dejectedly, "Virtually zero, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't at least try to get you to a doctor!"

Amal's eyes narrowed and he seized her arm, peering seriously into her flushed face, "Annika, you shouldn't let your judgement be clouded by concern for me, I'm fine, thanks to you."

"But…" Annika began in fretful hurt, stopping mid complaint as she read the certain, determined look on his face, her own reddening in anger, "I wouldn't have to be concerned about you if you had stayed on Voyager with the Doctor as you told me you would!" Her near shout was shrill with frustration, her eyes hot and glaring.

Her words hit home and Amal gulped slightly, unnerved by her emotional outburst and feeling guilt and regret enter his mind, going out alone in search of the crew probably hadn't been the most sensible thing he'd ever done, and he'd obviously given Annika a fright. "Alright, point taken." He replied softly, letting go of her arm and watching her with interest as she glanced at him in embarrassment before gradually purging any sign of strong emotion from her features. He sighed heavily; sometimes she could really put him on the back foot! "I think we should go and look for more members of our crew." He told her after a few minutes had passed.

She shot him a questioning look. "How would that help? They'd most likely react like B'Elanna, and that didn't work out particularly well for us."

He smiled wryly at the truth in that statement but continued, "I had one particular crew member in mind, Tom Paris, B'Elanna's husband."

Annika gave a start. "Why him of all people? He believes you kidnapped her, he won't help us!"

He tapped his hand where his sub dermal communication device still lay under the skin, "We might not be able to convince him, but_ she_ will."

A small, but slightly doubtful, smile of realisation dawned on Annika's face and she once again extended her arm out to help him, albeit it with a short sigh, "Come on, the bar is within 100 metres."

* * *

"Tom, pacing a hole in the bar floor won't help you find B'Elanna, you have to calm down and let the police do their job…" Harry tried to reason with his new friend as they stood alone in the empty bar.

"I can't just calm down Harry!" Tom retorted hotly, stopping momentarily midway through his circuit pacing around the floor. "Some psycho's out there kidnapping pregnant women! How can I just leave her in trouble…" His voice now took on a note of anguish and his face crumpled, making Harry squeeze his shoulder supportively and peer at him thoughtfully.

"She really is…special to you, isn't she Tom?" He asked quietly.

Tom blanched a little at that, then smiled sheepishly, "She is, I can't explain why even to myself, let alone you Harry, the moment I met her I just knew…"

"That you loved her already." A new voice finished for him in a certain, sympathetic tone, making both men turn abruptly to see that the odd blonde efficiency monitor had somehow joined them in the room and it was she who had spoken so out of turn.

Tom glared at her, feeling violated by her words, even though they struck a chord, and threatened by the woman's stoic, yet understanding, expression, which coupled with the metal scarring her face, send a creepy shudder up his back. "Excuse me?" He exclaimed angrily, "I don't think that's any of your business…"

She bowed her head awkwardly, "I apologise for the intrusion, and I know what I'm about to tell you may be difficult for you to accept, but I know where B'Elanna Torres is."

"You do?" Harry echoed incredulously, trying and failing to hold his friend back when he jumped eagerly on the woman.

"Really? Where is she?" Tom asked urgently.

"Come, we'll explain." She said quietly, heading off towards the open door of a storage room.

"We?" Tom asked tightly as he followed her, having enough presence of mind to signal Harry to come with him.

Amal gingerly appeared out of the room, "Yes, we." He answered.

"_You_!" Tom snarled viciously, immediately trying to leap at him, but Amal dodged his flailing fists. "What did you _do _to her?" He twisted round to face Annika as she held him back from Amal, "And you! Why the hell are you _helping_ him?"

"I'm helping him because he rescued B'Elanna!" Annika shot back sharply, "She, all of us in fact, are kidnap victims! We're not supposed to be here…"

Tom laughed bitterly, "You expect me to believe that?"

"Yes, we do." Amal replied tiredly. "Open the line to Voyager Annika." Harry and Tom watched in disbelief as Annika pressed a small device and handed it to Amal, who spoke into it, "Doctor?"

"Commander! You wouldn't believe how glad I am to hear your voice!" A male voice, strangely familiar to both Tom and Harry, replied.

Amal exchanged a small smile with Annika, "We're glad to hear from you too Doctor, believe me. Is B'Elanna there? Tom wants to speak to her."

It was the Doctor who replied now, but a nervous, uncertain sounding B'Elanna, "Tom?"

**A/n: I'm sorry that it's so short after such a long wait, but I've got time restraints tonight. Thankfully though, I think that's me back on track with this story now! PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

B'Elanna felt a shiver run through her body as she took her first step into the darkened room, suddenly overwhelmed with déjà vu. "So…these are my quarters?" She asked the Doctor quietly, who stood unobtrusively just behind her.

"Yes…" The Doctor confirmed carefully, "Yours and Tom's."

B'Elanna ran a hand quickly through her wavy dark hair and exhaled through clenched teeth. "Me and Tom, who would've thought it?"

The Doctor laughed softly, "None of your fellow crewmembers…at least not at first." He followed her gaze around the darkened room, then focused again on her shaking form, "He loves you B'Elanna, so much."

B'Elanna found herself gulping hard and had to squeeze her burning eyes shut for a moment. Taking a breath, she shook the uncalled for emotions off. "Computer, lights!" she ordered abruptly. The lights flickered on to reveal a surprisingly large room, there were many things that could have caught her attention, the batlef on one wall, photographs on another, but one strange item, a large box of some sort in front of the couch, inexplicably caught her eye. Shakily, she pointed it out to the Doctor, "What's that Doctor?"

The Doctor chuckled, "That's a device from Earth's 20th and 21st Centuries called a television. You bought it for Tom as a gift…"

"So that he could watch all those cartoons and B movies he likes…" B'Elanna continued for him in a wistful tone, "We'd sit here with popcorn all night sometimes…" Her voice cracked painfully; "Oh Kahless, how could I have forgotten about him?" she choked out, barely aware of the tears now streaming down her face. "He…He was still so protective of me, of...of our baby…" A full fledged sob burst from her throat as she felt her, _their_, daughter kick her. She twisted round as the Doctor squeezed her shoulder, his eyes sympathetic and sorrowful.

"You can't blame yourself for this B'Elanna; you never asked for this, none of the crew did." He relaxed as she quietened, soothed by his firm, implacable tone. "I think that's enough for you, we don't want your memory centres to get overwhelmed…"

B'Elanna snorted as she freed herself from his arm and stalked determinedly towards the doorway. "I'd rather get to work on how we're going to get them all out of there Doctor."

* * *

B'Elanna pulled herself out from underneath Sickbay's console with difficulty, the weight of the baby made even the simplest of manoeuvres difficult, and addressed the impatient looking Doctor, "I think I've done all I can for the comm. line from this end, we'll just have to wait until they call."

"And what do we do if they can't call?" The Doctor pointed out anxiously, "The longer they're left untreated, the less likely it is that they'll get their full memories back."

B'Elanna bit down hard on her lip, thinking of Tom. "I wish you hadn't just told me that Doctor…" She admitted in a near whisper.

"I'm sorry Lieutenant…" The Doctor began earnestly, guilt overruling his programming, but was interrupted by the insistent beep of the comm. line opening.

"Doctor?" A deep male voice that B'Elanna somehow found instantly reassuring echoed around Sickbay.

The Doctor beamed and leaned so hard on the comm. button B'Elanna fretted for a moment that it would break, "Commander! You wouldn't believe how glad I am to hear your voice!" he enthused in potent relief.

"We're glad to hear from you too Doctor, believe me." The man replied before pausing uncertainly for a moment, "Is B'Elanna there? Tom wants to speak to her."

The Doctor turned eagerly to B'Elanna, only to find that she had backed away from the console, her face pale. "Don't worry Lieutenant." He whispered softly as he gently pulled her back to the console.

B'Elanna had to inhale deeply to calm herself before shakily tapping the comm. button, "Tom?" she whispered, barely audible.

Tom though could obviously hear her, "B'Elanna! Are you alright? What happened to you?"

"I'm fine Tom, so is the baby." She smiled fondly as she heard his sigh of relief. "Listen Tom, please believe me, they're telling you the truth. We're not meant to be here." She swallowed hard, "All the memories of my real life, the one they tried to erase, are coming back."

"They're not coercing you are they?" Tom asked quietly after taking a few seconds to absorb her heartfelt words.

She uttered a tense, but wry, laugh, "Do you really think I'd be easy to coerce Tom? Help Chakotay and Seven so that you can come back home…to me."

"I will." Tom told her firmly, his voice thick with emotion, "It's not like I have much to lose if I'm kicked out of here anyway." He joked half-heartedly.

B'Elanna's gut tightened in worry, "You'll have plenty to lose if you don't get back here in a hurry, I've got the TV warming up and freshly replicated popcorn waiting for you."

Tom laughed; the Doctor was relieved to hear love in it. "I'll hold you to that honey."

There was a moment's pause before the man B'Elanna now remembered as Chakotay came back on the line, "Doctor, I'm going to institute a comm. blackout until we've gathered more of the crew and formed a decent plan on how to get us all out of here, agreed?"

"Agreed Commander." The Doctor replied when he got a vigorous nod from B'Elanna. "We'll be waiting."

* * *

Amal signed off with the Doctor and turned warily back to Tom and Harry, "So, are you with us?"

Tom nodded decisively, "I make it a rule never to break a promise to B'Elanna, I'm in."

"Me too, I'm convinced." Harry said, smiling at them all before he seemed to realise something and looked uneasily at Amal, "Command…" He started, then shook his head in confusion, "Amal, what exactly _are_ we going to do to find the others? This city's huge; the crew could be spread all over."

Amal sighed thoughtfully, then shot Annika an apologetic glance, anticipating her reaction, "Annika, I think we're going to have to take advantage of your security clearance again."

Annika frowned pessimistically, "The nearest console to which I have access is back in my office in the power plant. I will go alone."

Amal shook his head firmly. "No way, it's too dangerous to split up right now. We go together or not at all."

Annika took a sharp, angry intake of breath, "It's too dangerous for _you_ to go! Have you forgotten that you're being hunted by the police and are also seriously injured?"

Amal straightened his aching body to prove he was alright, though he doubted she'd fall for that, "All the more reason for me to come with you, I'm a sitting duck alone." He pointed out.

The way she glared at him then showed that he'd beat her at her own game and she turned sharply on her heel away from him, "Come on then!" she hissed and the three men followed her out of the bar and onto the covered thoroughfare that led to the power plant.

* * *

They had almost reached the door to the power plant when Harry was struck with a blast of recognition, "Hey, that's Rihanna Anderson from Engineering!" He hissed to Tom walking beside him, pointing to the half human, half Caytan woman who had entered the power plant just before them.

Tom hardly considered what he was about to do and followed Harry in sprinting after the woman, "After her! We need as many members of the crew with us as possible!"

Annika gasped in horror as she saw the two men run off ahead, "Wait!" she called after angrily, leaving the limping Amal for a moment as she ran after them. "What are you doing?" she hissed hotly as she grabbed Harry's arm, "_Don't_ draw attention to us like that! We could…" A sickening cry stopped her mid rant and she wheeled around to see security pouncing on Amal and dragging him away. "_No_…" She choked out, "Amal…" She was stopped half shriek by a pair of powerful arms twisting round her and forcing her behind a crate.

"Don't be stupid Seven! If we're all caught now the crew's trapped here!" Tom hissed in her ear as he restrained her thrashing body, lapsing into the use of her Borg designation he'd hadn't yet been told without fully realising it.

"I don't care!" Annika snarled in response, struggling against his grip, "Let_ go_ of me Lieutenant! Let go! We can't just let them have him…" She cried out hoarsely, sobs of panic tightening her throat.

"We _will_ get him back, just not right now." Harry assured her in a soothing whisper as he looked beyond the crate they were hiding behind, to the place where Amal had last been.

**A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D Just to make it clear, Rihanna Anderson is not mine; I borrowed her from Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay's fic "Rihanna's Story". Just a little thank you for all the great stories you've been putting up recently Jedi, please update something soon! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

Detective Yerid, lead investigator of Central City power plant's police station, was tense. Not even arranging his daily koffball bets and drinking his usual cup of Darkalian coffee was bringing the relaxation it normally did. He knew it was because of this kidnapping case, such an unusual and inexplicable crime hadn't happened in all his twenty years with the Quarran police force and as such he was getting a lot of pressure from the top brass. He'd told them that as soon as the fugitive was caught he'd be questioned thoroughly, that it was probably no more than the case of a jilted lover, but in his heart this explanation didn't add up, what little evidence he did have pointed towards something far from simple…

"Detective Yerid sir!" Yerid's head snapped up at the shout and he immediately jumped out from behind his desk as he saw two officers dragging the dead weight of a battered man down the hallway by the armpits, his crimson blood streaking ugly trails across the otherwise spotless floor in his wake.

"Who is this?" Yerid asked the more senior of the two officers angrily, "You should've kept him under guard at the hospital rather than bring him all the way here…"

"But it's the fugitive sir!" The officer broke in eagerly, "The kidnapper, Amal Kotay!"

"He's innocent until proven guilty remember Constable." Yerid reminded him coolly before taking in the man's appearance swiftly; it _was _him, a badly injured version. "I hope you used reasonable force, I'm not sure he's fit for questioning like this."

The younger officer, an honest man by the name of Samiloc, explained, "He was shot before we got to him sir, security must've managed to hit him while they were chasing him earlier."

"And the bruises?" Yerid asked drily, after realising Samiloc was right, the main wound had been bandaged at some point through it was now soaked through with blood and provided little help.

Samiloc shot the other officer a glare, who then snapped defensively, "He was resisting arrest!"

"Go and get the interrogation room ready for him Constable." Yerid told him calmly, watching the man stalk off before turning back to Samiloc, "Handcuff him and we'll take him to a doctor…"

"No." Amal Kotay struggled upright to look him in the eye. "I'm alright; your men just reopened the wound. Question me and I'll tell you the truth of why I'm doing this."

Yerid couldn't help but be surprised by the other man's commanding presence and self-possession, no matter how strange the situation. "I'd like to hear it, let's get started."

* * *

Amal grimaced in pain he was lowered into a chair across from Yerid in the interrogation room, but quickly hid it as he saw him observing him for evidence. He'd earlier formed a plan in his mind about what he'd do in this situation, but now, when he needed it, that plan had completely abandoned him. He sighed heavily as he studied Yerid, could he really risk telling him the truth? He and Annika had never been able to figure out how far this conspiracy went, but in looking at Yerid's measured features he had a feeling it didn't extend to him, the alien lawman seemed like a pretty straight shooter. He didn't have any longer to mull the problem over before Yerid asked him determinedly, "Tell me why you kidnapped B'Elanna Torres, an innocent pregnant woman, and where she is now?"

Amal braced himself, it wasn't as if he had much choice in the matter, he didn't have a remotely plausible lie to tell. As long as they didn't find out about Annika and the others then nothing really mattered anyway. "I didn't kidnap her, I rescued her." He corrected bluntly.

"Rescued her?" Yerid echoed incredulously, "It didn't look like you were _rescuing_ her when she was taken. She was screaming for help!"

A pained wince crossed Amal's face, the guilt over that incident not having completely faded. "I know but it was for her own good. Her memories of me, of her life, were erased when she was brought here. I need to get my crew back and she's one of them."

"Your crew? You think people are brought here against their will?" Yerid asked, his voice hushed by disbelief. "Those are _very _serious accusations! You'll need to back them up if you want to keep from being thrown in a jail cell right now."

Amal leaned forward over the table, his sense of urgency and desperation evident. "My species is called human, am I right in thinking that the Quarrans have never encountered our species until last month?"

Yerid pondered the question, "That's right, but as far as I can tell there are over a hundred of you here now."

"103 humans and thirty other individuals from species you've never seen before. They all arrived on the same day, during a labour shortage, do you _really_ think that can possibly be just a coincidence?" Amal pointed out sharply.

Yerid cleared his throat, not wanting Amal to see how much of his explanation had struck a chord with him. "Let's say I take you at your word and these people are all your crew, how did they forget who they were? We don't have the technology to bring on mass amnesia."

"Not en-masse perhaps." Amal conceded reluctantly, "But the doctors in level 6 of your hospital, the neuropathologists, _do _use memory engram re-sequencing to treat dysphoria syndrome, which is supposedly very rare and not contagious but you'll find that every one of my crewmates did receive treatment for!"

"That could be explained by your species having a particular weakness for that illness…" Yerid began but stopped when he realised how weak that reasoning sounded.

"If you need more proof…" Amal interjected impatiently, "Then just look in your scrap yard where my vessel's been hidden, the Voyager, and ask yourself why would…"

The crash of the interrogation room's door being forced open cut Amal off unceremoniously and as Yerid turned around to berate the thoughtless intruder he found himself confronted by the livid, reddened face of a man whose id badge identified him as a Dr Kadan. Yerid had to contain a shiver of unease when he saw the same badge was issued by Neuropathology. "Detective, I insist that you stop this interview immediately on medical grounds. This man has been diagnosed with dysphoria syndrome and must be released to my care." Kadan stated with smooth, patronising, confidence.

It took all of Yerid's training and experience to remain impassive, to ignore the way his stomach was plunging to his feet in dread. "I'm sorry Doctor, but I can't do that." He replied with a ghost of an apologetic smile. "Mr Kotay is suspected in a very serious crime and as he has already refused medical treatment I'm under no obligation to release him to you."

Kadan's eyes narrowed venomously. "You've misunderstood my courtesy to you as asking for permission Detective, I already have that from the Chief of Police himself. Now if you will please step aside."

Yerid slumped in defeat as orderlies began to lead Amal out into the hallway, feeling as if all the air had been kicked violently out of him. The condemned man himself appeared to have withdraw into himself, until that his he drew level with Kadan when he shot the doctor a glare so burning with disgust and hatred that Yerid was sure he saw the target flinch. Amal then turned back and flung Yerid a questioning look, who barely had to think before giving him a discreet nod in return.

* * *

As soon as the hospital staff had cleared out, Yerid returned to his desk, kicking out at it in frustration, how was it possible that in one half hour, for that was as long as the whole exchange had taken, could shake his beliefs about his world so utterly to the core? "What in the Goddess' name am I supposed to do _now_?" he growled to himself as he took a fortifying gulp of his now ice cold coffee.

"Sir?" Yerid lifted his head to see Samiloc cautiously approaching him, flanked, to his shock, by an auburn haired woman who was undeniably the same species as Amal Kotay. "This woman has some information about Amal Kotay and his apparent co-conspirator Detective." Samiloc informed him nervously; obviously his meltdown hadn't gone unnoticed within the station.

Co-conspirator? Yerid's heart leapt as he gently shook the woman's hand; after all he'd need all the help he could get if he was really going to run with this. "Charmed madam, I'm Detective Yerid and I'd be very grateful for anything you can tell me."

She stepped forward, "Kathryn Janeway."

**A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/n: Argh, I think this story has been my most writers block afflicted story ever! (It didn't help that I accidently deleted "Workforce" from my Sky+ and so couldn't re-watch it for ideas…) Forgive my horrible updating rate for this and PLEASE REVIEW! :D**

"I _demand _that you help me save Amal!" Annika growled out at Tom and Harry angrily as her glare flickered resentfully between them. "He is our First Officer and we cannot hope to save the rest of the crew without him!" she exclaimed when they didn't react, the tears in her throat making her normally forceful voice hoarse and broken.

Harry blanched in guilt, badly shaken by the violence with which Amal had been taken away and deeply unnerved by Annika's behaviour. The same sense of déjà vu and foreknowledge that had been haunting him since he'd met the couple under such strange circumstances told him that her behaviour was uncharacteristic, which made it doubly upsetting to witness. "We're not saying that we should abandon him Annika…" He began carefully, placing a gentle hand on her quavering shoulder.

Annika visibly flinched at the word "abandon" and shrugged his hand away, replying through gritted teeth, "By suggesting that we continue with our original plan you leave him in the hands of a corrupted police force to do with him as they wish…"

Tom took a deep breath, somehow knowing that he'd need to be blunt with her. Uncompromisingly he grabbed her upper arms and held her firmly against the wall. "You're being irrational Seven of… I mean Annika." he told her sharply, watching her face flush as his words sunk in, her throat gulping convulsively. "Amal…Chakotay wouldn't want us being thrown in jail for his sake, not right now while we need to get more crewmembers on our side to get _all _of us out of this situation." He let his tone become more sympathetic as the flaming red blood which had flooded her cheeks in anger and embarrassment drained away, leaving her looking exhausted and white as a ghost, "Listen, if you can get into the computer mainframe with those codes of yours, surely you can check what they're doing with Chakotay, and Tuvok too?"

"Yes…" Annika murmured quietly, rubbing her pale face with the back of one hand as he stepped back. She flinched slightly when she saw the tears she'd wiped away glittering on the skin of her hand, shame radiated through her pensive features before she shook it off, an expressionless mask settling over her face and hiding the emotional turmoil beneath. "Thank you for restoring my composure Lieutenant." She muttered to Tom stiffly before setting off in the direction of the power plant at a brisk pace, glancing back at the two of them over her shoulder, "Aren't you coming?"

* * *

"Have you found anything yet?" Tom hissed at Annika and Harry impatiently as he stood guard at the door to Annika's office.

"It takes time to go through all these personnel records Tom." Harry reminded him as he bent over the console assisting Annika.

"It will take longer to inform all these people of their situation, their work and life patterns are dissociated…" Annika muttered distractedly as she sifted methodically through all the relevant files she could find.

"Can we really just limit it to our crew?" Harry asked tightly, "They can't just have started with us; there could be hundreds of others in this same boat, getting their lives erased and reconstructed at will."

"Of that I have little doubt." Annika agreed grimly, "But we cannot…" Her breath caught suddenly in her throat and the two men looked over at her worriedly.

"What?" Tom whispered after a moment of silent dread, already made well aware that the information must be bad by the horrified expression on her face.

Annika swallowed hard, bracing herself against the console to stay upright, the very console, she now remembered, that she'd leaned against while Amal had kissed her. Closing her eyes for a second to shut out the sweet but painful memory, she said shakily, "The…The police have lost custody of Amal. He was taken away by…" Her fists clenched in hatred, "Dr Kadan."

Harry inhaled sharply, "The man who started all this?" Annika gave a terse nod in reply and he continued, "He has Amal _and _Tuvok now, right? What will he do with them?"

"Perhaps reset their memories again…" Annika mumbled thickly, though Harry could tell by her tone that she didn't believe her own words.

"Troublemakers like that?" Tom remarked darkly, "It would be easier to kill them than risk getting his little exploitation ring discovered."

"I know." Annika replied faintly, almost resignedly, before turning around to glare pointedly at the two men. "Do you agree to assist them _now_?"

"Of course we do!" Tom answered quickly, feeling defensive. "But they've doubled the security around that floor of the hospital since Chakotay was admitted…"

The spark of an idea lit up Annika's eyes. "Then we'll just have to get _admitted_ ourselves."

* * *

Dr Ravoc sighed heavily as he studied the strained, sweat-beaded dark skinned face of their most troubled patient. His name was Tuvok, a member of a species he'd never encountered before, and apparently a chronic sufferer of dysphoria syndrome. For the sixth time that day he looked over the man's brain scans, but the results perplexed him as much as they always had. The recommended treatment for dysphoria syndrome, memory engrams, seemed to be having an antagonistic effect on his mental state rather than a helpful one; in fact his brain was actively _rejecting _them. Frowning curiously, he called the nearest nurse over, "Nurse, where is Dr Kadan's original diagnostic report for this patient?"

The nurse looked at him blankly, "There isn't one Dr Ravoc. Dr Kadan said his condition was extremely serious and began treatment straight away in order to save his life."

Ravoc's frown deepened, to not write a patient report would be breaking all the rules of accountability. "But surely there must be something! This man isn't showing any of the typical signs of dysphoria syndrome that I'm aware of." He read the nurse's doubtful expression and sighed, "Look, can you just tell Dr Kadan when he returns that I'd like to discuss this case with him?"

"You can tell him yourself, he's just called in an emergency patient…" The nurse began to reply before being cut off by an urgent shout for help.

It was Kadan, followed into the room by two bulky police officers, dragging a badly beaten, but still struggling, man along the floor by his armpits. Ravoc couldn't help but gape at the sight, "Doctor, what is the meaning of…"

"He's a patient Ravoc." Kadan cut him off sharply, "The police had incarcerated him for a kidnapping but in reality he has a debilitating case of dysphoria syndrome. We have medical custody now, thankfully."

"Wait, doesn't he work at the power plant too?" Ravoc broke in as Kadan and the officers dragged the man onto a biobed, "This is the third suspected case I've encountered in power plant workers. We'll have to inform the authorities that there could be a new contagious strain…"

"I wouldn't worry Ravoc; it's just a coincidence…" Kadan muttered dismissively as he arranged his medical equipment to begin the engraming process.

"How can you just rule the possibility out?" Ravoc exclaimed in incredulous disbelief.

Kadan was getting riled now, "Dr Ravoc, do I have to remind you that _I _am the dysphoria expert here, not you?" he sneered.

"Don't…Don't listen to him…" The new patient croaked out, seizing Ravoc's lapel, "It's a lie; all…of it is…lies…"

"Nonsense!" Kadan retorted, immediately reaching for a sedative, but the patient angrily continued, pointing to Tuvok and glaring murderously at Kadan while addressing Ravoc.

"His _treatment_ is killing him, and it'll kill me too…" The man managed to force out before groaning in pain as Kadan's hypospray shot into his neck.

Ravoc shuddered as the man fell still, glaring at Kadan in thinly veiled disgust. "Give me _one _reason why I shouldn't report you for excessive force, as well as failing to fill out patient reports on _any _of our recent dysphoria patients!"

Kadan's face was eerily calm as he gave Ravoc's shoulder a paternal pat, ignoring the younger man's flinch as he did so. "I always knew you were a smart one Ravoc, come into my office."

"What about the…" Ravoc began with a questioning look at the two unconscious patients, before realising it probably wasn't the best thing to draw Kadan's attention back to them. "Of course sir." He complied quietly and walked into the office.

Kadan followed him in and closed the door behind him before sitting at his desk. "Now Ravoc, do you know what the main barrier to Quarra's expansion has been in the last decade?"

"The labour shortage of course, everyone knows it's a problem in this entire sector." Ravoc replied slowly, not following his superior's train of thought, what was labour to do with dysphoria diagnosis?

"Yes, everyone knows it's a problem but few have done anything about it. I, and a few select others, _are _doing something about it." Kadan responded cryptically, but Ravoc soon made a sickening revelation.

"You're _fraudulently _diagnosing dysphoria syndrome so that you can coerce them to stay here?" he choked out, "You're playing with people's memories, their _lives_, just to…"

"Improve Quarra's prospects?" Kadan filled in, "Yes, you could say that Ravoc, but I could argue that these…new arrivals are sharing in our success and creating happier lives for themselves because of what've I've done. Most of them were practically vagrants, shunned on every planet they went to, Quarra welcomes them and benefits from it…"

Ravoc's eyes narrowed in revulsion. "And how exactly have you _personally _benefited from this little arrangement Doctor?"

Kadan gave a dry laugh. "Handsomely, and now you will too Ravoc." Ravoc didn't have time to spit out a retort before the nurse he'd spoken to earlier shouted for their help and Kadan shot up, "Duty calls." He remarked as a white faced Ravoc reluctantly followed him, gasping in shock when he saw who the new patient was.

Standing at the bottom of the hallway were two agitated looking men, but it was the unconscious young blonde woman, with her distinctive metallic scars, who they were lifting onto a trolley at Kadan's command who caught Ravoc's eye. "That's the voluntary patient I saw earlier, I gave her a preliminary diagnosis of dysphoria syndrome…" He felt sick as the words left his mouth but neither Kadan nor the woman's companions seemed to notice.

"She seemed to start hallucinating and then just collapsed! We decided to bring her straight here!" The shorter, dark haired, human male who had helped bring the woman in exclaimed anxiously.

"You did the right thing." Kadan told both men firmly before turning to Ravoc, "It does sound like dysphoria syndrome, let's get her into surgery!" Before Ravoc could react, Kadan seized the trolley on which the blonde's crumpled body lay and wheeled her into the lab where Tuvok and the supposed kidnapper already were.

"Can we check on her? Her son will be worried." The other human, taller and fair-haired, asked Ravoc under his breath.

Ravoc shot a glare at Kadan's back as the older man disappeared into his office. "Sure, for a minute."

It happened in a matter of seconds, the man hissed, "Now!" and suddenly the body on the trolley came back to life, the woman swinging her legs out with all her strength and knocking the nurse to the floor. She was standing up within a blink of an eye, metallic tubes embedded in one hand threateningly extended and clutching a blade in the other hand.

She gasped, visibly upset as her eyes settled on the two truly unconscious men and practically throwing herself protectively over the newer arrival with a cry of relief as she found his pulse. "They're both still alive!"

"I wouldn't have let him hurt them…" Ravoc tried to explain himself only to find that the taller man was painfully restraining him.

"Oh yeah, you need them for labour right?" he hissed furiously in Ravoc's ear.

"I understand that you're…" Ravoc began desperately, only to be interrupted by Kadan's measured tones as the older doctor pointed a phaser at the three intruders.

"Don't bother negotiating Ravoc; as far as anyone's concerned, they're ill."

**A/n: Just to let you know, I've embarked on my first fully co-authored C/7 story! xXBrightsideBumblebeeXx and I have spent the last five months working on "Seven's Sins". Each chapter is dedicated to a "sin"; Anger, Sloth, Gluttony, Pride, Greed, Envy and Lust. I've written some of them, she's written some and we've collaborated on others. It's on xXBrightsideBumblebeeXx's profile and on my favourites. We're going to be updating it every Sunday (starting yesterday) and we'd both really appreciate it if you'd read and review, thanks! :D**


	13. Chapter 13

"Now…" Yerid began slowly, awkwardly shifting the paperwork around his desk so he could meet the eyes of the agitated woman before him. "Ms. Janeway, please start at the beginning."

Kathryn Janeway pursed her lips together nervously as her eyes registered the red streaks of Amal Kotay's blood which still stained the otherwise gleaming floor of the police station. "I want a guarantee that I won't be treated as _he_ was." She stated firmly, waving a hand at the interrogation room, its messy state a lingering sign of the violence of Amal's removal. She swallowed hard, Jaffen's kind, supportive face appearing in her mind's eye to give her strength. He'd told her that if there was even a hint of danger for her he'd run in and get her out of there, but the last thing she was wanted was for this surreal, inexplicable, situation to ruin his life as well as hers. "I also don't want my friend Jaffen being dragged into this…" She forced out, avoiding Yerid's eyes.

To her surprise, the practised, neutral mask that was Yerid's face fell away and he smiled at her kindly, if a little weakly. "You and your friend don't need to worry on that account, I will use every power I have to shield you from the…" He paused, his expression hardening, "…distasteful elements I have a feeling this investigation may throw up." He noticed Kathryn's flinch and gave her clenched a reassuring pat before meeting her gaze again, his own deadly serious. "I _know _now there's something suspicious going on at that hospital, perhaps in this whole complex, but without Amal Kotay or his companion's help I need someone else to help me bring the pieces to together." He explained quietly, "Are you willing to be that person?" he asked softly, getting to the point.

Kathryn studied his face for a moment, she knew in her gut that this man at least was sincere in getting to the bottom of something which had plagued her since she'd felt bound to help the fugitive pair and been referred to as "Captain." She couldn't just ignore the sense of responsibility which had suddenly been laid on her shoulders. "Yes." She agreed in an emotional whisper before her voice took on a more business like tone. "It all started when I came back to get the last of my things from my apartment and found them…" Her voice trailed off as she remembered the shocking scene, then she clarified, "Amal Kotay and that blonde efficiency monitor, the Borg, I still don't know her name…"

"That's okay." Yerid assured her quickly as he scribbled notes while pondering a question. "This might sound odd, but did the sight of those two people trigger any…" He paused, feeling sheepish, "…memories for you?"

Kathryn narrowed her eyes. "How do you know that's what she told me?" she asked sharply.

"It would correlate with what Kotay said, that's all. What exactly did the woman tell you?" Yerid pressed.

"The whole experience was strange." Kathryn admitted softly, "When you spoke of memories, the only thing that triggered anything for me was when she called me "Captain" and spoke of a starship…"

"Voyager?" Yerid guessed eagerly.

"Yes, that's what she said." Kathryn agreed, "But really the rest of her story was so farfetched! Kidnapping and memory manipulation…"

Yerid sighed heavily, "Believe me ma'am, after 25 years in the police nothing strikes me as farfetched." She nodded knowingly, a sigh leaving her lips, although afterwards she seemed confused by her agreement with him. "This "Voyager" seems to be the key to the puzzle, it's mentioned constantly, did they mention to you where it was?"

"No, but…" Kathryn's eyes took on a distant expression, "It could be destroyed, the mines did so much damage…" She flushed as she realised what she'd just said, "I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from…"

Yerid however ignored her apology, engrossed in his computer and muttering, "Yes, that makes perfect sense…"

"What does?" Kathryn snapped at him in irritation, shocked by the tears which had been burning at her eyes since she'd thought of Voyager's destruction.

Yerid grinned at her like a schoolboy, knowing a break in a case when he saw one. "My team and I have been working on a suspected illegal salvaging ring at the salvage depot just outside the city, and I think I might have just found a trace of your Voyager…"

* * *

Kathryn walked into the dark, cavernous space of the salvage hangar with trepidation, hovering just inside the doorway as she waited for Yerid to dazzle the young guard with his police badge. In the back of her mind she wondered about warrants, but was unsure where the unfamiliar idea came from. Yerid pulled her out of her thoughts by tapping her shoulder, "We'll start looking around and you can just tell me straight away if you recognise the ship Ms Janeway."

"We don't need to look far…" Kathryn muttered in reply as she fixed her eyes on the largest, and strangest, looking ship in the hangar. "That's _my _ship." Her certain, almost possessive tone was enough for Yerid to follow her without question as she ran off towards the huge vessel, pulling down an access hatch with practised ease and climbing inside, barely waiting for him to follow.

Kathryn roamed distractedly through the halls of the ship, assaulted with fragmented memories as she did so. "Do you know where you're heading?" Yerid asked sceptically as he trailed after her, out of breath.

"Not exactly…" Kathryn murmured tightly in reply. She was deeply confused, but her feet moved automatically forward with determined purpose, as if some sort of gravitational pull was tugging her in a particular direction. Eventually her eyes settled on a door and she let out an unconscious sigh of relief.

"What's behind this door?" Yerid asked in a whisper.

"Help…I think." Kathryn answered as the door opened before her to reveal a balding human male and a pregnant woman she recognised from the news coverage as B'Elanna Torres. They were both a wearing a strange uniform, the man in blue, B'Elanna in yellow, and they both turned around sharply at the sound of the door opening.

The man's face split into a relieved grin at the sight of her. "Captain! I'm so glad you're alright!"

Kathryn shifted backwards when faced with his effusiveness, even though she knew instinctively that he was harmless. "Yes…thank you." She replied awkwardly before turning to B'Elanna, "I'm glad you're alright at least Ms. Torres."

B'Elanna gave her an understanding smile as she approached, "Your memories aren't fully back are they Captain?"

"No…I suppose not." Kathryn quietly responded, caught off guard by her question despite everything.

It was at that moment that Yerid decided to make himself known. "I presume you don't consider yourself a kidnap victim Ms. Torres?"

B'Elanna shot the Doctor a sheepish look before replying, "I did at first, before my memories came back." Her expression became hopeful, although edged with fear, "Is Tom with you?"

Kathryn shook her head, feeling inexplicably anxious as she answered, "No, I'm sorry B'Elanna."

"Your memories seem to be quite intact, more so than in Amal Kotay's case, though he started all this…" Yerid addressed B'Elanna curiously after she'd composed herself about Tom.

The man, rather than B'Elanna, answered, "Yes, because she has had the full treatment to reserve the memory engraming procedure. Seven and Chakotay decided to involve more crewmembers before undergoing it themselves. Where are they?"

"Chakotay has been taken back to the hospital and I have no idea where Seven is, Doctor." Kathryn replied, unsure why she knew he was a doctor. "Have I been through this…procedure of memory manipulation?"

The Doctor nodded grimly, "Undoubtedly, the whole crew have as far as I know. I was abandoned in this hangar until Seven and Chakotay somehow regained some self-awareness…"

Sensing he was about to start ranting, Kathryn put up a hand to stop him mid-flow and addressed Yerid, "Can you help us to unravel this scheme Detective? I need my crew back safely!"

"Of course!" Yerid exclaimed emphatically, "Do you have specific evidence of what has been medically performed Doctor?"

"Look at these." The Doctor instructed him, pointing out two brain scans which were displayed side by side for comparison, "This is B'Elanna's brain scan from her medical a month ago and this is the one I took when she first came back, before my treatment."

Yerid gasped when he read the huge gaps in memory on the second scan. "My Goddess, it's true…" He whispered brokenly, staring at the scheme's victims with shame and disbelief in his eyes. His police radio suddenly sprang into life, "Yes, what is it?" he snapped down the line.

"Detective Yerid sir, there's been a security alert declared at the hospital! Level 6, Neuropathology…"

Yerid exchanged fearful glances with the three Voyager crewmembers. "I'll be right there!"

* * *

"I think _you're _the sick one here Kadan!" Tom hissed angrily into Kadan's frenzied face as the doctor who'd tried to doom his whole crew, his family, to amnesia, waved a phaser as himself, Harry and Annika, who was still hunched protectively over Amal's unconscious body as she glared viciously at Kadan.

Kadan gave a loud, but humourless, self satisfied laugh. "You call saving my planet from an irreversible population crisis _sick_?" he spat out incredulously, "In fact, it's all perfectly rational, and peaceful. My methods bring wandering souls into the welcoming arms of Quarran society! You and your shipmates are a prime example, I've saved you from pointlessly living out your lives travelling an impossible distance, instead I offered you the chance to live out a settled existence on your new home world. Can you really tell me you were unhappy during your weeks here?"

"Who are you to dictate our happiness?" Harry retorted, thinking painfully of his parents on Earth, his friends on the crew.

"How we decide to live our lives should be a choice made individually! You have been manipulating people for your own ends and then justifying it by saying that we remember no different! How convenient!" Annika snapped, grimacing in worry as she heard Amal groan beneath her.

"Yes I agree, very convenient. As you will see when you forget all your little inferences here, just like your friends." Kadan taunted her.

Annika's eyes shot frantically between Amal and Tuvok, her stomach twisting in sickening fear. "What have you done to them?" she snarled, her assimilation tubules shooting out of her hand as she prepared to risk attacking this insane man.

"The same thing I'm about to do to all of you…" Kadan began to hiss, cocking his phaser, but at that moment the hypospray in Ravoc's hand sank into his neck and Kadan then fell forward, unconscious, hitting the tiled floor with a dull thud.

"I think that's enough of his threats…" Ravoc gasped out breathlessly as he kicked Kadan's phaser across the floor to Tom. "I didn't know, I'm so sorry…"

"I think we can agree on that statement Doctor Ravoc." Yerid remarked suddenly as he entered the doorway and lowered his weapon, Kathryn Janeway and the Doctor standing just behind him.

**A/n: This story has **_**completely **_**deviated from canon, but I hope you still like it! PLEASE REVIEW! :D **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/n: Just to let you know that "Seven's Sins" is going to be updated at some point today. This week's sin is "Greed" and xXBrightsideBumblebeeXx and I both really hope you enjoy and review! Anyway, on with this new chapter! **

"The Doctor tells me you plan to leave Quarra tomorrow Captain." Detective Yerid said softly as he entered Voyager's Ready Room, which as it had turned out belonged to his informant, and now hopefully friend, Kathryn Janeway. "I just stopped by to wish you the best of luck on your journey, and to apologise again for what you and your crew have been through."

Kathryn smiled warmly at the policeman. "As we've all told you before Yerid, you had nothing to do with this." He bowed his head gratefully and she added genuinely, "We owe you thanks for helping us Detective, really." She skilfully changed the subject as his expression became both gratified and sheepish, "How is your investigation into the other workers' backgrounds going?"

Yerid sighed, running a strained hand through his hair. "Well, from what we know Kadan had his operation up and running for about six months, we've traced over 1200 victims so far and there are probably more, but at least the Government has agreed we have to make amends with these people." He sighed again, a hint of doubt in his voice, "If that's really possible, I don't know." He caught Kathryn's sympathetic look and took a deep breath, "The Doctor tells me his treatment is working perfectly, and I must say it's been the same way on Quarra."

"Good." The Captain replied, trying to sound more eager than she did. "I'll admit it's been an unusual three days, watching my crew having to re-learn their lives."

"I'm sure." Yerid said solemnly, "How are Amal and Anni…" He halted, correcting himself, "…Commander Chakotay and Seven of Nine dealing with all this?" he swallowed slightly, "I know they suffered more brutality than most."

"I haven't really spoken to them in depth, to be honest. They've been working hard to help their crewmembers adjust…" Janeway didn't air her suspicion that Chakotay and Seven were avoiding any issues this experience had thrown up for them and, most noticeably, avoiding each other. She pushed this thought aside and smiled distractedly at Yerid, "I remember them well enough however, to know that neither of them blames you in any way."

"That's good to hear." Yerid admitted as he respectfully backed out of the room. "Give them my regards, and good luck with your journey to the Alpha Quadrant."

"Thank you." Janeway replied sincerely. After he was gone her mind once again began to drift, unable to truly focus on her myriad of responsibilities. Instead, Jaffen's heart-warming laugh again echoed in her ears, as memories of his gentle but intoxicating touch had tortured her these last three nights… Snapping out of it, she resolutely tapped the comm. badge she'd been absently toying with as she'd been daydreaming. "Captain Janeway to Chakotay and Seven of Nine, can you both please report to my Ready Room?"

Chakotay's reply had the smallest of nervy hitches in his voice, although the tone was decidedly businesslike. "On my way Captain."

Seven's answer a moment or so later was perfectly composed but tellingly short. "Yes Captain."

They both arrived there looking rushed, as if they were desperate to get this interview over with, but it just so happened that they arrived at the same moment. The barely perceptible blushes that passed over both faces as they nearly collided did not go unnoticed by their Captain, who quirked a knowing brow at them both as they positioned themselves at either side of her desk. "What's the hurry?" she asked wryly.

Chakotay had the grace to look shamefaced. "No hurry Captain, not at all." Even as he directed these calm words at her, the Captain could see that his gaze and the vast majority of his attention was focused on Seven, whose reaction to the Captain's probing was more irritated.

"I have a great deal of repairs to complete Captain." She informed Janeway coolly, shifting back skittishly as if she could feel Chakotay's gaze on her skin and hear the Captain's mental suspicions.

"I realise that Seven." The Captain replied tightly, "I was only going to enquire about how you're both doing; I know you went through a lot down there to convince us of our true identities and I want you to know how much I appreciate that."

"I could do nothing else Captain, none of us belonged there. It was a deception." Seven said in a clear, unequivocal tone, and both Chakotay and the Captain knew she was sincere. The idea of doing otherwise had never entered her head; Janeway wished that she could say the same. Seven flushed a little under both their gazes and added stiltedly, "No thanks are necessary."

Chakotay couldn't help but smile fondly at Seven as he agreed. "Seven's right Captain. We're both just glad we all came out of it intact…"

"_You _were damaged!" Seven interrupted sharply, old fear still evident in her tone.

"I'm fine now." Chakotay murmured in gentle reassurance, causing Seven to blush fiery red for a moment at her outburst before she recollected herself.

"Captain, I am urgently required in Astrometrics. May I be excused?" Seven asked hurriedly, "I'm sure the Commander can debrief you more efficiently than I." She shot the Captain a thinly veiled pleading glance as she said these hasty words.

The Captain sighed, "Of course you may Seven." With one curt nod of the head and the tiniest, probably subconscious, glance at Chakotay, Seven turned on her heel and left the room.

Janeway looked at Chakotay as levelly as she could. "You're going to have to talk to her." Chakotay didn't reply, his only acknowledgement before her comm. badge interrupted was the smallest of gulps.

"Harrow to Captain Janeway. You have a visitor from Quarra in Transporter Room 2."

"Thank you Nathaniel. Send him up here to my Ready Room please." Janeway replied before turning back to Chakotay, only to realise he'd gone. Another sigh left her throat, she was surprised to find that she hoped they worked it out, the look she'd seen on Chakotay's face when he'd woken up in that hospital with Seven leaning over him was unmistakable. Even more unexpectedly, she wasn't jealous. Jaffen had taught her a great deal about her own feelings…

The doorbell rang and she called through, expecting Yerid again. "Come in!"

"Hello Kathryn."

That gravelly voice that sent shivers of pleasure down her spine made her drop her mug of coffee. "Jaffen?"

* * *

Seven somehow managed to make her way back to Astrometrics despite her mental fog. Contrary to what she'd told the Captain there was little to do in here, the Quarrans hadn't been able to figure out how to strip it for parts as they had done many parts of the ship, really all she wanted was to recover her composure in a quiet, familiar environment. She sagged against the console, frightened by the sudden, unnatural compulsion to cry which overwhelmed her. "Any disorientation will fade within three days", that was what the Doctor had assured her, but the return of her memories, mixed with her _feelings _from her time on Quarra had left her more "disorientated" than she'd ever felt during their ordeal. She'd been so _certain_, so unwaveringly confident that she'd be something to him, that their connection wasn't a fluke, that it had meaning. Yet, when her memories had returned, she knew with that same certainty that she was actually less than nothing to him, in fact barely tolerated. The horrible clarity of her life as a Borg had flooded back in, overwhelming the blocks the Quarrans had put in place to give their new worker some level of peace of mind. She knew she'd never feel so guiltless, so free of her traumatic past, ever again. Awareness of her worthlessness, of her imperfection, ate at her and thinking of her unjustifiable feelings for Chakotay, no Amal, for Chakotay was different by force of circumstance, just made her feel worse, her peace even less salvageable.

"Seven? Are you alright?" Seven jumped at the sound of Icheb's kind voice by her side and met his concerned eyes sheepishly as she hastily wiped her own.

"Yes Icheb, I am fine." She replied softly before addressing one issue that had been bothering her. "I hope the way Kadan…rearranged our relationship does not disturb you?"

"No." He answered firmly, his expression shy as he elaborated, "The arrangement struck me as quite apt."

"I agree." Seven reassured him warmly.

Her thoughts were rapidly chilled by fear however as a newcomer entered the room. "Would you mind leaving Seven and me here alone for a minute Icheb?" Chakotay asked Icheb carefully.

"Of course Commander." Icheb replied easily, although Seven was sure she felt him squeeze her fingers for the briefest of moments before leaving the room.

Seven kept her back turned to him and he made no effort to move. "What can I do for you Commander?" she asked formally.

"You can look at me for a start." Chakotay responded, his frustration escaping unintentionally through his voice. He saw her back muscles flinched and cringed in guilt, this wasn't going the way he had, albeit hastily, planned. "Please Seven?" he asked, more gently this time, even pleadingly.

The hurt in his voice caused a crack in Seven's resolve and she whirled around to face him, yet still keeping her head down and her back pressed warily against the console. Chakotay gasped in shock as he registered the barely visible tear tracks that faintly stained her cheeks. "Seven, have you been…crying?" he asked her thickly, assaulted by the recurring memory that had brought him to this point, of Seven, Annika, crying in relief as he woke from Kadan's drug induced coma.

Her head jerked up defiantly. "Borg do not cry." She muttered tersely, even as she brushed at her face in agitation.

That reply needled his already taut emotions. "You're _not_ Borg." He reminded her angrily.

She twisted her head away from him. "I'm enough of one for it to be relevant." She whispered bitterly.

Chakotay crossed the space between them in two strong, impulsive strides and grabbed her arm. "Relevant to _what_?" he demanded.

She narrowed her eyes at him angrily as a lump of tears began to choke her, was he really going to make her say it. "To…To everything!" She finally forced out, "To every…_one_!"

He somehow managed to pull her body against his. "Not to me, not anymore." He whispered before lowering his lips to hers and pressing them together. Seven's reaction couldn't help but be instinctive, emotive. She let him deepen the kiss, exploring his mouth just as eagerly and leaning into him as a form of relief washed away all other feelings. That euphoria lasted only a matter of seconds however, an excruciating pain drilled into her head, intensifying with the pleasure of the kiss, as if it were punishing her for the enjoyment. Finally, the pain for her and need of air for him drove them apart and all Seven's previous doubts returned to her.

"We…can't…" She gasped out weakly, the pain from her head almost blinding her, to the point where she let Chakotay pull her tighter against him just to stay upright.

"Why not?" he whispered as he hugged her shaking body to him.

Seven lowered her aching head onto his shoulder, trying to steel herself even as she breathed in the clean scent of detergent from his uniform and the faint, musky aroma of cologne from his warm skin. "It's not true, you'll forget within days the feelings that made you…" A whimper of pain left her as she pulled herself away from, the now constant agony of the headache seeming to increase with her distress.

"Of course they're _true_ Seven!" Chakotay exclaimed in disbelief. "What we felt on Quarra was _real_! What else would you call that kiss? A dream?"

Seven staggered away, now hyperventilating as she tried to cope with the pain, spreading with impossible speed to every nerve in her body. "Please…" She whispered hoarsely, too out of it now to know whether she was addressing him or the pain, begging it to stop.

The penetrating chill of fear pushed Chakotay's anger and hurt aside as a moan of undeniably physical pain left Seven's lips. "Seven? Seven, what's wrong?" he asked, utterly panic stricken and immediately heading back to her side as he read the sheer agony on her face.

"Cha…" She began to choke out but her breathing hitched suddenly and she instantly crumpled to the floor, grey and unmoving as her implants began to ripple and spark with some sort of electrical current.

Chakotay sank to his knees with a cry, slamming his hand into his comm. badge as he did so. "Doctor, medical emergency in Astrometrics!" he shouted frantically down the line.

**A/n: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! :D Remember to check out "Seven's Sins" too. As I'm sure you all know, it's Christmas next week and I'll like to know anyone's Christmas themed C/7 fic requests! **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/n: Sorry about my lack of updates, that's the holiday season for you! Anyway, here's a new chapter and I hope you all like it. Thanks to Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay for completing "Far From Home", what a brilliant ending!**

For a few impossibly drawn out seconds Kathryn Janeway stared down at the fragments of her favourite coffee cup, watching the dark stain of spilled coffee spread its way over a large patch of her Ready Room's carpet with much more interest than it deserved. Yet she didn't dare look up to meet the gaze of her true object of attention, the one that made her heart race and her palms sweat. The rumble of a dry chuckle caressed her ears, and still without looking up she could picture the wry, teasing, upward turn of his lips as he said, "Mourning the loss of your caffeine fix Kathryn?"

That did it, broke the ice so to speak, her head snapped up. "Well, it _was _my favourite cup." She retorted with a light shrug, unable to stop herself from returning his playful grin, but as his face became more serious, even saddened, her emotions plunged back down into darkness. "What are you doing here Jaffen?" He opened his mouth but another panicked question had left her lips before he could answer, "Kadan didn't alter your memory too did he?"

Jaffen's head shake was slow and heavy and Janeway's heart clenched in confusion as she caught a hint of regret in it. "No. I am what I seem, a worker looking for work."

A lump rose in Janeway's throat. Perversely, at that moment she'd almost been hoping that he'd suffered the same ordeal as her, and then he would understand. "I didn't mean to mislead you Jaffen, really…" She was shocked by how pleading her own voice sounded.

Jaffen's face softened as he stepped forward and placed a warm, calloused hand on her arm, rubbing absent circles into it with his thumb. "I didn't say that to make you feel guilty Kathryn, far from it." He assured her with an affectionate smile, "But it is the truth, I'm as far from a starship Captain as someone could be."

Kathryn clenched her teeth in frustration. "You're a gifted engineer Jaffen!" she reminded him hotly. She watched him shrug doubtfully and followed his gaze around her Ready Room before adding, "Being a Starfleet Captain isn't often all its cracked up to be." She admitted with a sigh.

Jaffen smiled at her knowingly, "But sometimes it is. I know you Kathryn; you're too bull-headed to stick with a job unless you believe it's worthwhile."

She laughed weakly, "You're right about that!" She dropped her gaze to his hand still on her arm and covered it lightly with one of her own hands. "And you _do _know me, better than anyone has for a long…long time…" She trailed off as emotion closed off her throat.

Jaffen's other hand suddenly brushed her cheek, and she was suddenly aware of the tear sliding down it that he'd so simply wiped away. "You're doing great Kathryn, look at what you did for Quarra and at your crew; they're so loyal to you…"

Kathryn again lifted her face to meet his intense, searching gaze dead on, struggling to swallow a lump in her throat. "Sometimes loyalty just isn't enough…" She whispered brokenly against his lips before pulling them into a sweet kiss and leaning into his suddenly tight embrace.

* * *

"Seven!" Chakotay shouted hoarsely as he knelt over her lifeless body and desperately shook her shoulders. "Goddamnit Doctor!" he spat out in frustration when she made no response, her implants sparking even more fiercely, "Where are…"

He was cut off by the buzz of the transporter directly beside them and suddenly the Doctor's familiar presence dominated Astrometrics. The hologram barely allowed himself a gasp of shock before he was down on his knees beside his unexpected patient, unceremoniously pushing his senior officer out of way as he used his tricorder to assess the obviously critical situation. "Her cortical node is shutting down!" He exclaimed, horror overtaking his professionalism for a moment before he glanced back at a ghastly pale Chakotay. "What happened here? She was in good health an hour ago…"

Despite his raging emotions destroying his sense of perspective for anything but Seven, Chakotay still bristled at the underlying accusatory note in the Doctor's voice. "We were just talking…arguing, nothing that should make her…" His breath caught in his throat as he saw the Doctor pressing a cortical stimulator to Seven's neck and insanely he tried to swipe it away, "She can't need _that_!" he choked out, "She was fine…"

"Well she is about the farthest thing from fine now Commander, whatever the reason may be." The Doctor replied darkly with narrowed eyes before studying his tricorder again and then hitting his comm. badge hard, "This is the Doctor, I need an Emergency Medical Transport to Sickbay for Seven of Nine, _now_!"

"Yes sir." The Transporter Technician on duty, Ensign Nathaniel Harrow, agreed quickly.

The Doctor looked back at Chakotay. "Report to Sickbay Commander." He ordered briskly, just before the light of the transporter carried him and his patient away, but his permission proved unnecessary, Chakotay had already sprung to his feet and was running for the door.

* * *

Chakotay breathlessly reached Sickbay's threshold after what seemed to him like hours, but was in reality only a couple of minutes, of running, to see Seven sprawled over the biobed furthest from the door, her unnaturally rigid frame jolting agonisingly as the Doctor called out, "200 megajoules, 300, 400…", without drowning out the merciless drone of a flatlining heart monitor or a myriad of other alarms which Chakotay dreaded to interpret.

"No…" He ground out in devastation as his legs began to give way beneath him, "Doctor, _do _something!" he shouted at the hologram's unmoving back, suddenly enraged.

The Doctor ignored him completely, instead intoning, "500 megajoules…" At that command, Seven's helpless body gave one last wrenching jerk and fell back against the biobed with a shudder, accompanied by the abrupt halt of all the alarms and the steady beeps of the heart monitor. Chakotay believed that sound would forever be engrained in his memory as the best he'd ever heard as he watched the Doctor sag forward in relief after a few more minutes of tension, addressing him without turning around. "I've stabilised her cortical node, she's out of danger for the moment."

"For the moment?" Chakotay echoed shakily as he walked further into the room and finally reached Seven's biobed. "Does that mean you know what caused it? You make it sound as if it'll happen again!" He knew he was lashing out pointlessly at the Doctor, but he was struggling to rein in the emotions which were flooding him, among them relief, frustration and intense fear.

The Doctor was visibly startled by his questions, but answered them as smoothly as he could. "I have my suspicions." He stated coolly, quickly adding when Chakotay's face tensed even further, "It's not the same problem which led to Icheb's intervention, I know that." He barely let Chakotay breathe a sigh of relief before saying, "It would help me however Commander, if you'd tell me the circumstances of her collapse. What were the two of you…" He paused delicately, "…arguing about exactly?"

Chakotay swallowed his irritation with a pensive glance at Seven's still form, "We weren't arguing exactly, more like having…" He paused uneasily, he knew perfectly well that Seven wouldn't react well to him giving the Doctor a precise account of what had happened between them, and he didn't exactly relish the prospect of giving up his privacy either, "…an impassioned discussion." He ended lamely.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Concerning what?"

Chakotay felt his hackles rise. "That's none of your business." He remarked coldly as his blood began to boil, "You're making it sound like she…we did something _wrong_ and I'd like to know why! Tell me what happened!"

The Doctor frowned at him. "There's such a thing as patient confidentiality Commander, I know how you feel but…"

"Her heart stopped in front of me for God's sake Doctor!" Chakotay snapped, unwilling to listen.

"I'm well aware of that, but unless you _married _her during that discussion of yours you have no right to know…" The Doctor began to reprimand sharply but was shocked into silence by Chakotay's forceful grip pinning him against the wall, the flame of anger that had lit in his eyes at the mention of marriage now an inferno of blind fury. The Doctor flinched under that gaze. He'd always privately wondered how the reserved, intellectual Commander he knew could ever have lost himself in the vengeful cause of the Maquis, but now he knew how. Underneath the calm was a steel that the bravado of the Captain's occasional outbursts just couldn't match, at that moment the Doctor was truly _scared_ of the former rebel leader. "Listen to me Chakotay…" He began quietly, "I know that you care for Seven, and I'm sure she cares for you enough to tell you what happened, once she's had enough time to process it and her options for _herself_, alright?"

Chakotay immediately let him go, shame flooding his handsome features as he studied Seven's unconscious face, all he had the right to hope for was that she'd confide in him. "I know Doctor, I'm sorry. Will you ask her to come and see when she's ready?" he murmured morosely.

"Of course Commander. Try not to worry." The Doctor advised him gently as he read the pain in the man's features. With a silent nod, Chakotay left the room and the Doctor turned back to Seven's scan results. "An emotional suppressor…" He muttered in disgust, before glancing between his patient and the door Chakotay had just disappeared through. He didn't need to stretch his imagination far to see what may have happened in Astrometrics, he'd after seen how they'd interacted on Quarra. Sighing to release his momentary jealousy, he smiled sadly down at Seven's pale face, "The two of you certainly put new meaning in the phrase, "still waters run deep" don't you?"

**A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D I hope all of you have a good New Year's Eve, hopefully I'll manage to update "The Loving Game" tomorrow, but this is my last chapter of 2011. **


	16. Chapter 16

The sensation which first prodded Seven back towards consciousness was the light pressure of fingers against her throat. She knew they belonged to the Doctor even before she forced her strangely heavy lids open and read his gently concerned, pensive expression as he peered down at her. Touch was the one of the only things which still marked out Voyager's Chief Medical Officer as a hologram; his touch radiated neither comforting warmth nor refreshing coolness. This fact had always given Seven an irrational, but instinctive feeling of unease, despite her inner logic asserting that it was ludicrous to expect body temperature from an, albeit superbly sophisticated, projection. In her present state of confusion and pain however, she couldn't suppress that instinctive urge to flinch away from him slightly as she asked hoarsely, "What happened?"

The Doctor gave her a small smile. "You gave the Commander and I quite a scare…" He started carefully but she cut him off, her own face heating up from remembered passion and present shame.

"The Commander?" she asked sharply, almost fearfully before somehow managing to recollect herself, her spine stiffening as she sat up abruptly in the biobed. "I fail to see why an…apparent malfunction in my cybernetic systems would frighten the Commander." She stated with cool dignity.

The Doctor inhaled incredulously before meeting her frozen gaze head on. "I think witnessing a cardiac arrest would frighten anyone, even someone as disciplined as Commander Chakotay."

Seven's gut clenched into a spasm of fear. "Car…Cardiac arrest?" she echoed in a shaky whisper before her voice was strengthened by disbelief, "That's impossible, I haven't suffered any ill health. My last maintenance check with you was normal…"

"Yes, it was." The Doctor answered levelly, "But I have reason to believe that the cause of your medical crisis is somewhat…insidious, triggered by recent events." He saw Seven's face clam up instantly, an impenetrable mask of hauteur, and sighed, deciding to tackle the easiest bit of this dilemma first, the cold hard medical facts. "Have you been experiencing headaches recently?" he asked pointedly.

Seven relaxed a little as she pondered the question, relieved he wasn't going to interrogate her about Chakotay. "I suffered headaches intermittently while I was on Quarra." She admitted, "I presumed the problem stemmed from Dr Kadan's actions."

The Doctor grimaced, avoiding her gaze as he gave her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. "No, I don't believe so Seven." He murmured softly, "This problem has to do with a very specific part of your cortical node…" He stopped, his courage momentarily leaving him as all the possible scenarios that had run through his head as to her reaction assaulted his brain at once.

Seven forced herself to take a deep breath to still the fears welling within her. I've faced a deadly malfunction before; she told herself stubbornly as she quirked an eyebrow at the Doctor, irritated by his silence. "Which component of my cortical node is malfunctioning?"

The Doctor gripped his tricorder hard as he replied tersely, "That's just it Seven, it wasn't _malfunctioning_. From what I can tell it was working exactly within its program parameters, to stop drones, if their link with the Collective was ever severed, from achieving certain levels of…emotional stimulation." He sighed as Seven stared at him uncomprehendingly, "In effect, it's a fail-safe device."

Seven's gaze had become distant, unfocused, and when she spoke her voice was monotone. "If the link with the Collective was ever severed, I suppose they wanted drones to deactivate if they became hysterical, over-stimulated…" Her throat constricted as her Borg logic fell away and disbelief set in. "But if I had such a fail-safe, I would be dead by now! I've experienced countless emotions in the four years since I was freed from the Collective…" Despite this argument, Seven felt her chest tightening in panic as the Doctor's expression saddened.

"I know that." He conceded gently, "But it would seem that this fail-safe focuses on…romantic feelings. Everything came to a head when you were with alone with Chakotay…"

"The two circumstances are not necessarily related!" Seven snapped, tears of violation filling her eyes as blood rushed to her face under his knowing gaze.

"Seven…" He started with a sigh, "I know this situation hasn't been the gentlest of introductions, but feelings of attraction and attachment are the most natural forms of emotion in life, essential in fact. You've come so far, to love is to be a true individual." He assured her, deciding to persevere even as she flinched back from him in denial. "That's probably why the Borg decided to suppress it in this way but I believe that a few delicate operations, maybe even one, could remove this fail-safe and leave you free to…"

Seven cut him off with a hoarse whisper, her eyes glassy but hard. "And what if I don't wish its removal?"

The Doctor's jaw slackened in shock. "What?" he asked dumbly before striving to recover. "All operations have their risks Seven, but I believe those would be minimal in comparison with what you would gain…"

Gain? Seven mentally echoed, what would she gain from this? If all of her emotions had been dulled by this device, what would happen when it was gone? Would fear become debilitating, anger raging, grief overwhelming? Her heart drew back from the thought like it was a burning flame and before she knew it a single, cruelly definite word had slid from her lips, "No."

"What do you mean "no"?" The Doctor asked incredulously, his hand squeezing her arm until it hurt.

She lifted her head to parity with his, her gaze uncompromising. "I mean that I do not wish to have the fail-safe removed."

The Doctor gave a choked gasp of "Seven!" before frustration rose up within him. "Seven, surely you know by now that the Collective denying you something doesn't mean it's bad!" He exclaimed angrily only to have her twist away, forcing him to try a different tact. "What about your relationship with Chakotay? Are you really willing to let him go just because of some perverted sense of Borg pride?"

Seven had let his other exclamations wash over her, but she couldn't shut this one out entirely. A sudden sense of loss brought a lump to her throat she had to push her reply over, "I…I never had him. The incident on Quarra must've confused him, made him forget what I am…"

The Doctor snorted as he remembered Chakotay's bereft expression. "Seven, maybe you can stop yourself from seeing the truth in him but I saw for myself, don't give your fear an excuse."

"It's not an excuse! It will hurt us both less if I stop this now before…" Seven snapped tearfully, heading for the doorway.

"Before he can hurt you?" The Doctor asked quietly, causing her to freeze in her tracks. "It's too late to go back to the status quo Seven, either way you owe him some sort explanation. If you don't give him one then you're not the woman he thinks you are."

Seven's head turned sharply, a light dying in her eyes like a cornered animal before she fled Sickbay altogether.

* * *

The walk from Sickbay to his quarters was much longer and more arduous than she remembered. Her heart was racing and the corridor wavered in front of her as she pushed her unyielding limbs forward, clenching the muscles in a futile attempt to stop them shaking. She reasoned to herself that these were all side effects of being clinically dead only an hour before, but that brought her no comfort as she came to a stop at the door and rang the bell a single time.

**A/n: I'm sorry this is a day late, I did start it yesterday but this chapter was more draining to write than I thought it would be! I was going to try to finish the story in one mammoth last chapter but I decided to split it up. PLEASE REVIEW! :D **


	17. Chapter 17

**A/n: I'm sorry for not updating anything since Sunday; my first week back at college has been very hectic. I hope you enjoy this chapter and understand why it took me so many days to write!**

Chakotay would never be sure how he managed to reach his quarters, his body had moved without his mind or heart leaving Sickbay. As he stood in the centre of his, suddenly suffocating, bedroom, he sieved through the last few minutes, although he could hard believe that according to the Computer he'd only speaking to Seven as little as ten minutes ago, searching for a source of solace and comfort but finding none. Despite the Doctor's cautious assurances that Seven would recover, the memory of clutching at, and pleading with, her lifeless body haunted him mercilessly until it was all he could do to keep his breathing relatively steady while blood from his still racing heart pulsated through his ears. He relentlessly pushed the thought that Seven's brush with mortality was the tip of an overwhelming, deathly iceberg to the back of his mind but the thought slid easily back to the forefront of his concerns with a sickening resilience. After all, she'd already escaped fate once, but this time Icheb wouldn't be able to hold it back with a donated cortical node…

Chakotay couldn't suppress a violent shudder as he analysed the sinister logic of this thought and suddenly felt freezing. Trickles of icy sweat clung to his brow and the collar of his uniform felt so tight at his throat he felt he was being slowly strangled by the stiff, itchy fabric. With a growl of achingly powerless frustration, he shed the jacket of his uniform and threw it forcefully into a nearby chair. It was only when the arrow of silver that was his comm. badge caught the dim light that he remembered he was technically still on duty, well, there was really no technically about it, he was only an hour into his self-assigned shift on the Bridge. The oft repeated war in his mind between duty and emotion raged for a moment or two before he decided that an officer as distracted and exhausted as he was now was in no fit state to command, which, by definition, was to have other people's lives in his hands. Quickly he snatched up the comm. badge, "Chakotay to Bridge." He hailed sharply.

"Yes Commander?" Harry Kim's voice echoed through and Chakotay couldn't help but sag slightly in relief, he would never have held up against the Captain, or Tom for that matter, who would've both asked why he was skipping out, Kathryn in all seriousness and Tom jovially, but Harry was different, obliging to superiors by nature.

"Listen Harry, do you mind taking command of the Bridge for now? I'm on-duty but I've…been feeling the after-effects of everything on Quarra and the Doctor said I should take it easy for an hour or two…" Spirits, he hoped everything with Seven could be resolved in that time.

Friendly concern immediately filled Harry's voice, "Of course Commander, after what you went through its no wonder, I'll wait until Tuvok comes to take the next shift. Don't worry the ship's safe with me. Rest up, okay?"

"Thanks Harry." Chakotay replied gratefully, quashing his modicum of guilt as he did so. The Doctor would understand and cover for him if anyone asked. He swallowed as he thought of Sickbay again, and then sighed. He knew there was nothing he could do until Seven sought him out, she hadn't exactly reacted well the last time he'd attempted to force the issue. Deciding to take a shower in an attempt to warm his shock chilled body; he retreated into the solitude of his bathroom and within minutes was under the soothingly rhythmic flow of the sonic shower. As the almost uncomfortably hot water brought a pleasantly distracting throb to his skin he considered how he'd managed to get himself into this situation, so…involved, he refused to analyse the emotion further, with Seven. Kathryn had made a rule, well it was a Starfleet rule she'd decided to maintain despite Voyager's extraordinary and unprecedented situation, that there were to be no relationships formed between crewmembers. Of course, it had been broken many times over in seven years, most significantly by Tom and B'Elanna, but never between ranks, that was a line that had never been successfully crossed. He'd been content to follow this rule on the whole, especially after Seska, had never dropped his guard too much. B'Elanna had once accused him of being emotionally shut off, only letting people get so close, too private and introspective for his own good, even while in the Maquis. He supposed some level of emotional detachment was inevitable after seeing your whole family and society wiped out in one fell swoop as he had. It wasn't that he hadn't had love affairs while on Voyager, he was a passionate man and had fallen for many women while on away missions, but never for long. Voyager had always moved on, and he'd left them behind, there was a measure of safety in that. Far back into his past, when he'd been a teenager playing the field with the girls in his village, his father had sagely advised him to stop leading the girls on if he still intended to go off and make his future with Starfleet rather than with his people. His teenage self had rather rudely asked in retort if he was restricted to women as "contrary" in nature as he himself apparently was. His father had laughed and replied gently, "Perhaps, but if you don't take love seriously now, you'll get a shock when real love hits you, and it will, rare though it is."

His father had been right, real, intense love _was_ rare, and an intoxicating shock to the system as first. If he were honest with himself, he could count off those relationships in one hand. Firstly, Svetlana, his Academy love and the woman who had, ironically, introduced him to the Maquis, then Seska, and now… He slammed his fist against the glass of the shower door in agitation, and then switched the water off, drying himself vigorously before putting on a fresh vest and a more comfortable pair of trousers than his uniform before collapsing back on his bed with a heavy sigh.

* * *

He must've fallen into a doze, for when his doorbell rang his entire body jerked in shock, his head throbbing in complaint as he sat up stiffly. "Come in." He addressed the doorway, his voice hoarse with strain. For a moment he wondered if he'd imagined the solitary ring that had penetrated his disturbed dreams, normally someone would ring more than once, but as the doors slid effortlessly open he understood. Seven of Nine stood at the threshold, as still as a statute except for the slight quiver he could see in her knees which told him she was frozen with indecision. Her pale eyes shimmered in the dim light like a mirage, two specks of colour on an otherwise ashen face.

Seven shifted her weight onto her heels as the doors opened traitorously, preparing herself to flee, but as she met his disbelieving eyes, blinking away sleep as he gazed at her, she froze as if hypnotised. It was his whisper, husky with relief and something else she couldn't define, which broke the spell they were both seemingly under. "Seven…"

He was standing and striding powerfully towards her within seconds. The light of joy which lit his eyes made her heart race and her stomach clench in guilt simultaneously, he was happy to see her, impossibly so… That realisation alone caused her to unconsciously draw back from him as she forced herself to speak, "The Doctor told me that you wish to speak with me."

Chakotay stopped mid stride, his brow immediately furrowing as his jaw clenched, "Yes Seven, of course I do!" He replied emphatically, his gaze intensifying as he studied her with obvious anxiety, "What happened in Astrometrics…"

Seven cut off his question hurriedly, "Thank you for assisting me Commander, I…greatly appreciate it." She choked out with difficulty, flinching as she saw hurt flooding his face to the point where she could no longer look at him directly.

Chakotay saw her withdrawal into distant formality as confirmation of his worst fear, impulsively gripped her wrist to keep her in place. "It's your cortical node isn't it?"

Her shudder confirmed it, but she answered anyway, seeming to hear the unspoken part of the question. "It is not the same malfunction as before. Death is not inevitable."

"But it is dangerous?" Chakotay prompted, forcing her to meet his eyes again. In the dark orbs she saw both pleading and a smouldering frustration.

She swallowed hard, the "no" she knew she should say immediately sticking in her throat like a stone. She could brush off personal questions with the expertise of a Vulcan, force her face into a blank mask with relative ease, but blatant lying went decidedly against her nature and upbringing. In the Collective, deception had been impossible and the Voyager crew had never encouraged her to develop the humanoid talent. "Yes…" She finally admitted in a whisper, "But if I am careful I…" She tried to explain desperately, mentally begging him to let the matter drop.

"_Careful_?" Chakotay echoed incredulously, "Careful about what exactly?" An icy feeling in his gut told it him wouldn't be something simple and benign.

Seven had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering as she shivered, gulping repeatedly in an attempt to make the lump in her throat dissipate. Her heart wasn't just racing now; it was hammering against her ribs so hard it hurt. Her vision began to blur and for a panicky second she wondered if she'd again activated the fail-safe, but knew that it would take sustained high levels of emotion to trigger it. He'd abhor her choice if she told him, the rejection would be total. She knew she couldn't handle that; she'd rather have died in Astrometrics than… Suddenly she was aware of both of his strong warm hands around her elbows and in one easy moment she'd bee guided into the nearest chair. "Tell me Seven…please." He murmured softly as he knelt in front of her, clasping her human hand tightly.

Seven's throat constricted as the heat of his hand travelled up her arm, it was inexplicably, but undeniably, comforting. For the first time she noticed that his hair was damp, obscuring his distinctive tattoo as it clung to his scalp, and suddenly had to suppress the urge to push it aside with her fingers. "Don't…tell anyone, not even the Captain…please." She pleaded, now finally aware of the hot tears that had been sliding hopelessly down her face ever since he'd first asked her.

Chakotay could have been offended by that request, but knew her well enough by now to take this step towards confidence as a high compliment. He gave his head a steady shake, "No, I won't." he assured her softly.

Seven heaved a deep breath to calm herself, but tears continued to cling to her voice as she began, "The Doctor…discovered…that my cortical node has a fail-safe incorporated within its components."

Chakotay waited patiently for her to continue, but then finally prompted her as gently as he could. "Fail-safe?"

Seven pressed her lips together, her hands, even the one he held, curling into tense fists. "If one is triggered it…deactivates the drone." Chakotay shivered, aware of the Borg's euphemistic use of the word "deactivate" and remembering the dramatic scenes in Sickbay. He opened his mouth to question again but she pre-empted him, "This particular fail-safe's trigger…" She paused painfully, "…is excessive emotion."

She saw at once that he didn't believe her and all her remaining hopes plunged into darkness, even as he pressed her for more in disbelief. "Excessive emotion? Only the Borg would think…" He began incredulously before stopping an unhelpful rant against the Collective from leaving his lips. "It's impossible Seven." He stated unequivocally, "I've _seen _you get emotional. You've been worried, sympathetic, scared, angry, and even paranoid for God's sake…" He trailed off with a vigorous headshake of denial, "No Seven, it can't be…"

Seven bit her lip, pulling her hands away from his and beginning to twist them in her lap uncharacteristically as she fought to compose herself. "The Doctor can't be sure why now; it may be that my original cortical node did not have it, that it was an…improvement used in Icheb's assimilation…" Her only comfort in this situation was that Icheb would never suffer it, and she clung to that belief desperately. "But, even if that is the case, the Doctor believes that…" Even in her distraught state she flushed to the roots of her golden hair, "…only a certain type of…passionate emotion fully triggers it…"

Chakotay's face clouded with incomprehension for a moment, but her flaming blush burned the cruel truth deep into his mind. "No…" He whispered under his breath, suddenly on his feet and pacing the room as he struggled with the reality. Surely the Borg couldn't be so _twisted _as to kill, to murder, a drone for loving? The very concept was wrong and he ached to reject it, but one glance at Seven's face told him the truth. To curse someone, not only to the mutilation and inherent guilt that came with assimilation, but to lifelong emotional celibacy was sadistic in a way he couldn't verbalise. He balled his hand into a fist, overwhelmed with the urge to punch something, anything, and imagine it was actually the Borg Queen's face, but one glance at Seven deadened his violent urges. She had shrunk away from him, her mortification and shame so evident that his heart ached in empathy. He was beside her again in a stride and gently put firmly tilted her head up with his hand, "You're blameless in this honey, don't look so guilty, please." He tried to reassure her, "The Doctor will find some way to remove it…"

Seven grimaced, "He is hopeful…" She conceded in a whisper before fresh sobs choked her, "But I cannot cope with anymore…"

"What you've been through is more than anyone should have to deal with…" Chakotay started to soothe but she stiffened.

"You misunderstand me. I cannot function with _more _emotion." She said sharply, her breath quickening in panic, "I have endured levels of fear and guilt and anxiety that I can barely handle at this intensity, I do not want anymore!"

"I know." Chakotay murmured, causing Seven to stare at him in shock. "I know that this is scary, I can't begin to imagine how much, but four years ago you had no tolerance for emotion and look how far you've come since then. It may be like that again for a while, but you're forgetting all the _good_ emotions too…"

Seven realised then that her denial of her feelings for him by insisting on the fail-safe must've hurt him, and was suddenly desperate to explain. "Chakotay, I did not mean that I don't want…"

He held up a hand to stop her. "It doesn't matter if it's me or someone else Seven…" He quickly gulped back the painful quaver in his voice, "…but a life where you have the threat of death hanging over you if you ever love someone isn't worth living, believe me." He waited for his words to sink in without looking at her before rising to his feet and extending his hand out to her. "Come with me."

Seven studied his determined face for a moment, memorising it in case, on the wave of emotion she was experiencing at that moment, it was the last chance she had and then stood to take his hand.

Chakotay's smile was warm with relief and pride as he tapped his comm. badge, his gaze still on Seven, "Computer, transport Commander Chakotay and Seven of Nine to Sickbay."

**A/n: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! :D **


	18. Chapter 18

Kathryn's heart soared in relief as she felt Jaffen's lips curve into a smile against hers. She happily let him deepen the kiss as his strong arms looped tightly around her back; she was just starting to let herself melt into the embrace before need for air pulled them reluctantly apart. Her first glance up into his face revealed the same happy, blissful glow that she knew had diffused her own face, but after that brief moment his gaze was serious and pondering. "What do you want to do now Kathryn?"

"Now?" Kathryn echoed, her throat tightening in sudden anxiety. Why did he always challenge her this way? The ball was almost always in her court with him, not that she didn't usually like it that way, but for once she wished he wouldn't be so considerate. "I…" She started, almost stuttering as she met his gently questioning eyes, "You could stay here." She suggested, immediately feeling better upon airing the idea that had surged into her heart as she'd kissed him. She just couldn't give him up; she'd already suffered the pain of leaving a lover behind. "Of course, you don't have to." She rambled on hurriedly as he didn't immediately respond, "I realise that you have lots of opportunities here Voyager just couldn't offer you, we're on a lifelong journey here…" She turned her head away, unwilling to look at him as an uncharacteristic blush flooded her cheeks, "I mean, just because we rushed things before doesn't mean you'd want to now…"

"Kathryn…" Jaffen broke in, pulling her back towards him by the starched shoulders of her uniform, returning her now pensive look with an affectionate smile. "Honey, whatever opportunities I may or may not have here, I think that by letting you go I'd be missing out on the biggest opportunity of my life, the opportunity to be with, to love, an amazing and extraordinary woman."

Kathryn felt her mouth drop open in shock, a soft gasp leaving her lips. "Really?" she whispered almost inaudibly. She hadn't felt this speechless since Mark had proposed all these years ago, the feelings that overwhelmed her now were remarkably similar to back then, disbelief, joy, love…

"Yes Kathryn." He answered firmly, the sincerity in his deep voice making sound even sexier to Kathryn's ears than usual. He shrugged lightly, "It's not as if rushing things a little has done us any harm so far."

Kathryn laughed lightly, "No, I wouldn't say that it has." She replied wryly as he lovingly pulled her into another embrace.

* * *

As Kathryn sighed in his arms for the fifth time in as many minutes, Jaffen halted in his absent stroking of her gleaming auburn hair. "What is it Kathryn?"

"Oh…" Kathryn began teasingly as she leaned back against his chest. "I was just thinking that this sofa has somehow become much comfier than the last time I sat on it." She answered with a smirk as she surveyed the sofa cushions, and one Starfleet issue uniform jacket, that had been discarded to the floor to make space for their make out session. If her father could see her now he wouldn't see the difference between Kathryn the Captain and Kathryn the hormonal teenager…

"Do you think your crew will be willing to accommodate me? I need to work, earn my keep…" Jaffen asked abruptly, concern in his tone.

"Work can be arranged, B'Elanna would never deny an engineer of your calibre a rota…" Kathryn replied with a smile before biting her lip anxiously, fiddling with her comm. badge as she did so. "As for protocol…" She muttered tightly, "It's not as if Captains are banned from having their partners on board." She said defensively, "It's…frowned upon in certain situations I suppose…" She admitted as he peered at her.

"Well, I would say Voyager's situation is _unique _to say the least…" Jaffen reminded her, sensing her outburst of worry as he comfortingly rubbed her lower back in small circles. "And I may not know your crew too well yet individually, but I've witnessed enough of their actions over the past few days to know that they'd want to see you happy."

Kathryn smiled to herself as she thought fondly of her crew. "I know." She conceded before twisting around to fully face him. "And they're _your _crew now, not just mine. We're all a part of the Voyager family."

Jaffen studied her for a moment, hearing the sigh at the end of her speech. "You're worried about them?"

"Always." Kathryn admitted ruefully, "They all went through a lot on that planet, but Seven and Chakotay especially, and now I'm pretty sure they're avoiding each other…"

"Avoiding each other?" Jaffen echoed incredulously, "I assumed they were an established couple, like your pilot and engineer…"

"Oh no…" Janeway stopped herself as she realised she was perhaps doing her friends a disservice, "Well, if they _were _established here I had no idea. Amnesia must do some amazing things."

Jaffen's brows furrowed, "You don't like the idea? I know she's a Borg, but she seems reformed enough…"

"That's not what I was referring to at all." Kathryn corrected him sharply, "It's just a little ironic that's all…" She obliged his curious look, "They were engaged in a…life or death struggle when they first met, but I suppose it doesn't matter." She sighed again as she processed the idea in her mind, "They've both had traumatic live, in their own way, if anyone deserves a good relationship it's those two." She finally concluded, feeling satisfied.

"And what about you? About us?" Jaffen whispered as he leaned in for a kiss.

"I think we deserve it too." She replied softly.

* * *

The transporter directed Seven and Chakotay to appear right in front of a startled Doctor, who immediately took in a concerned gasp at the sight of the tear tracks which still glimmered on Seven's ashen cheeks. "What happened?" he asked, urgently stepping forward as his gaze went back and forth between their faces before finally resting warily on their interlinked hands.

This, albeit mildly, disapproving look was enough to make an already fragile Seven cringe back in shame and doubt, but Chakotay's grip instantly tightened supportively around her hand, keeping her close to his side. He shot the Doctor a warning glance, the last thing Seven needed right now was for the Doctor's support to waver, she'd been upset enough without her own doctor staring at her like a ticking time bomb. "Go ahead Seven." He murmured to her reassuringly, "If it's want you want."

His soothing words were enough to push Seven from her silent stupor and she nodded heavily before stepping forward and meeting the Doctor's eye with a sudden piercing directness, despite the tear husked note in her voice, "Doctor, I…wish to have my failsafe removed, as soon as possible."

The Doctor's holographic body sagged in relief. "Good…" He nearly added, "You saw sense" but thought better of it when he read Chakotay's protective stance at his patient's side. "Come over here…" He patted the biobed, "And I'll run some scans to see how we're going to go about this." He saw Chakotay tense, obviously he'd expected him to start as soon as she had agreed, but medicine didn't often work that way. "Now…" He began as Seven obediently sat on the biobed. "As I said to you before Seven, one method of removal would involve several operations, but I've been doing some research since the…problem presented itself, and I now think the fail-safe could be removed in a single operation." He finished his scans and, for the moment, clicked the tricorder off. "There would be a slightly higher risk to this of course, there always is when an operation is longer and more complex…"

"Higher risk?" Chakotay repeated tersely, unable to stop his already clenched jaw muscle from jumping in anxiety.

"Do it." Seven cut in before the Doctor could reply, swallowing repeatedly as she met the Doctor's eye with an eerily resigned gaze. "I want this fail-safe _completely _gone…as soon as possible." She gave Chakotay's white knuckled hand a gently reassuring squeeze, a comforting gesture which struck the Doctor as something of a role reversal, and said with a quiet wryness. "Any medical procedures performed on me are _always _high risk and experimental. I am relatively unique after all."

Chakotay smiled fondly at her. "Relatively isn't the word I'd use."

"No." The Doctor agreed with a similar smile before starting to retreat to his office. "I'll go and make my preparations, just lie down and relax, okay?"

Seven gave him a swift nod and quickly lay down, though she thought the command to "relax" was rather defunct given the situation. She heard Chakotay pull a stool to her bedside and then sit down, but she couldn't look at him. Anxiety and fear, for herself and for him if she didn't live, paralysed her and she could think of no words that could commute all she felt towards him at that moment. A sudden longing brought an idea to her lips, "Chakotay…" She murmured softly, "Will you do something for me?"

He was leaning over her, gazing into her face, within seconds. "Anything." He agreed instantly. The detachedly logical thought that such an open answer could be unwise ran fleetingly through her mind, but not for long enough to stop her from lightly pressing her hands to his face and kissing him tenderly, but all too briefly, on the lips.

Chakotay had to fight the powerful and overwhelming urge to intensify the sweet, and short, kiss, but the danger of it for her sobered him enough to let her pull back. He knew at once, as his lips tingled almost magically, why she had done it and felt frustration surge momentarily within him as he gripped her hand for dear life. "You're going to be fine." He told her, perhaps a little too sharply, "I'll be here when you wake up and it will all be over."

Seven almost cried in pity for him then, it would hurt him so badly if… It was this knowledge of him the made her nod weakly, smiling faintly for his sake alone. "I know." She whispered simply.

**A/n: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/n: Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed my one-shot "Seven's First Valentine". I really appreciate it. :D**

The Doctor watched as Seven's pale eyes, stoically fixated on Sickbay's ceiling as she braced herself for oblivion, slowly drifted closed as the sedative he'd just put in her veins quickly took effect. With practised control he scanned her now limp frame, snapping the tricorder shut before finally glancing up from his patient to address the Commander. "She's fully anesthetised, I'm ready to begin."

Chakotay didn't reply immediately. His shoulders slumped in a heavy sigh as he gave Seven's hand he was holding a final squeeze, now for his benefit rather than hers, his grip lingering even as he stood up stiffly. "Good. You'd better get started then." He said in a neutral tone, gently placing Seven's hand back by her side on the biobed before turning on his heel to leave. "Contact me when it's over." He told the Doctor firmly as Sickbay's door opened in front of him, his tone unmistakably conveying an undisputable order. "I told her I'd be here." He murmured, so quietly it was almost to himself.

The Doctor replied anyway, "I know, I heard your promise." He assured him calmly, but with a hint of doubt in his voice that made Chakotay stiffen and stop in his tracks, the Sickbay doors swishing shut again as the Doctor continued, "Are you sure you know what you're getting into Commander?"

Chakotay set his jaw as he turned back around to face the hologram, fighting to stop his hackles from rising, "I was "in it" the moment she confided in me Doctor, the moment we…" He stopped as he saw the Doctor's enquiring look, "Why would I want it any other way?" he questioned tersely, his anger rising as the Doctor remained silent, "What makes you think I'd…"

The Doctor gave an irritated sigh. "Don't jump down my throat Commander." He muttered loftily, "I just thought it would it would be better to warn you that Seven's going to be…fragile for a while after this."

Chakotay's lips twitched sadly, irritated by the Doctor's cluelessness. "She's always been fragile Doctor; she's just been exceptionally good at hiding it." He retorted sharply, "I'm not going to run away from her because of that!"

"I should hope not." The Doctor answered coolly before a tired sigh left his lips, "She's vulnerable right now Chakotay, that's all."

Chakotay forced himself to take a deep calming breath to cool his temper, pushing his defensive stance to relax slightly as he spoke again. "I know you care about her Doctor…" Privately he was starting to believe that the Doctor's, and the Captain's, overprotective shielding of Seven had led to many of her lingering fears about rejection if she took a step forward. "But I need you to know that I understand how much pain she's been through, more than a person should ever have in one or even two lifetimes, and that I would _never_ add to that pain…" His emphatic, passionate, words were cruelly interrupted by the beep of his comm. badge, and he broke stern eye contact with the Doctor to answer it, "Chakotay here."

The Captain's unexpectedly cheery voice, so at odds with the tumult of emotions which dominated his thoughts, filled the room, "Chakotay, I've called a quick senior staff meeting in the Briefing Room, it's important that you attend."

Chakotay almost smiled, she sounded as if she was bursting at the seams with some sort of good news, though what that could possibly be he didn't know. "I'll be right there Captain." He agreed hurriedly, waiting for the comm. line to cut off before he addressed the Doctor again, "I need…" He glanced at Seven, "We need you to trust that I lo…" He stopped, Seven should be the first to here that word from him, "…that I would never hurt her, _ever_."

Despite the stumble over wording, his sentiment shone through clearly enough for the Doctor to be able to smile at him with genuine warmth. "I do now Commander, and _she _trusts you, that should be enough for me." His expression became apologetic, "As soon as she's ready to be woken, I'll let you know."

"I'd appreciate that Doctor." Chakotay replied with more emotion than he'd expected before reluctantly leaving Sickbay to find out what was going on in the Briefing Room.

* * *

"Hello Chakotay…" The Captain began to greet her First Officer warmly as he walked into the Briefing Room, but paused, frowning, as she realised the certain blonde she'd expected, perhaps unwisely given her knowledge of both of their intensely private natures, to be by his side was conspicuously absent. "Do you know where Seven is?" she asked pleasantly as the other senior officers politely talked among themselves while shooting sneaky glances the Commander's way.

"She…" Chakotay's mouth dried up as he conjured an excuse, "She's had a problem with one of her implants since Quarra…" He explained stiltedly, comforting himself with the fact that while these words evaded the complete, horrific, truth, what he said wasn't a lie either.

"She's ill?" The Captain gasped anxiously, "Why didn't the Doctor…" That frustrated question broke off as she caught Chakotay's split second glare, who couldn't entirely hide the violation he felt on Seven's behalf at the Captain's readiness to interfere. "She _did _see the Doctor about it didn't she?" The Captain asked uneasily when Chakotay didn't elaborate further.

"Yes." Chakotay answered quickly, "The Doctor seems to think she'll be fine once he's removed the implant."

Jaffen, who'd been observing this conversation from his place just behind Kathryn's shoulder, saw the spasm of pain and uncertainty which passed fleetingly over the other man's face and swiftly realised Kathryn had been matchmaking enough. Giving Kathryn's arm a quick squeeze, which she acknowledged gratefully, he moved forward to meet Chakotay, hand extended, "Hello Commander, I'm Jaffen. It's good to finally meet you properly."

Chakotay shook his hand firmly, a brief but friendly smile passing across his lips as he did so. "It's Chakotay, please." He said simply, "We did meet before, I just wasn't quite in my right mind, its good to see you."

"I think he knows by now that none of us were in quite as normal!" Tom remarked with an easy laugh, "You've forgiven us, haven't you Jaffen?"

Jaffen shot Janeway a significant look, "I certainly have Tom, don't worry about that."

Tuvok broke in levelly, "Excuse me Captain, but what exactly is the purpose of this meeting?"

Janeway smiled at her Security Officer, "Don't worry Tuvok; I haven't pulled you away from your post for no good reason." She teased lightly, "I wanted to inform you all that Jaffen is staying on board with us for the rest of our journey." She announced, a shy blush tainting her normally controlled features.

Chakotay launched into congratulations as happily as everyone else, smiling his first real smile since Seven's collapse as he told his Captain and Jaffen, "That's great news, I'm happy for you both." He truly was, but the question still replayed in his mind, will Seven and I ever be free enough to have that happiness?

* * *

"Seven…" Seven tried to raise her leaden eyelids at the faint sound of her name, but soon stopped struggling as a headache began its throbbing, repetitive cycle through her brain, it would be so much easier to continue sleeping… "Wake up Seven, please…" This time Seven recognised the voice enough to motivate her to abandon sleep. A weak groan of frustration left her when her eyes still ignored her command to open, but gradually she felt them grow lighter as consciousness set in and then she could see. The set of dark eyes which magically focused her confused attention lit up and she became aware of a warm hand resting on her cheek, absently brushing back a strand of her hair. "Hey, how are you feeling?" The deep voice she knew belonged to the handsome face asked, mesmerising her as much as the eyes had.

She attempted to form comforting words in reply, but her throat felt painfully rough for some reason and so she had to settle for letting her lips curve into a weak smile in response. He instantly returned it, through his was made wide and bright by relief. A new, more businesslike voice shattered the moment, "Can you tell me how you're feeling Seven?"

All of her memories rushed relentlessly back with a suddenness which made her gasp and adrenaline propelled her into a sitting position. "Did your plan succeed?" she asked bluntly, paying for talking with a fit of coughing.

"Here." The Doctor kindly handed her a glass of water, which she gulped down greedily, before answering, "The operation went perfectly, better than I anticipated actually." He informed her, his chest puffing out, "Another unique procedure to go in my records for medical attainment…"

"You can't tell Starfleet Medical of this…" Seven whispered in mortification as Chakotay tensed in agreement.

Hurt flashed brutally across the Doctor's face. "Of course not Seven!" He assured her emphatically, "I was merely acknowledging that this is another achievement for medicine on my part…" He began defensively.

"Thank you Doctor." Seven interrupted, somehow managing to sound intensely grateful and mildly apologetic at the same time.

Mollified, the Doctor smiled at her. "No need Seven, with the fail-safe removed you can now enjoy everything from a belly laugh to a good cry as much as you should have been able to in the first place.

Seven's brow creased slightly as she wondered whether to remind him that laughter originated in the diaphragm not in the gastric system, or for that matter to ask when crying could possibly be characterised as "good". Deciding against bringing up such irrelevances right now, she instead asked, "May I leave to return to duty now?"

"Not to duty!" Chakotay answered her sharply before the Doctor could get a word in.

"Not to duty and not to anything else except a full regeneration cycle either." The Doctor clarified for her while shooting Chakotay a pointed look of warning, "No negotiation and no distractions. Twelve full hours of regeneration and then I'll see you for a check up afterwards, understood?"

"Yes Doctor." Seven agreed passively before sliding shakily off the biobed, still feeling off-balance from the sedative.

Chakotay stepped forward to catch her, giving her his arm for support. "I'll take her to the Cargo Bay Doctor."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed, but he had to fight a smile as Seven blushed at Chakotay's touch. "Remember what I said, regeneration only tonight."

Seven sensed an innuendo of some sort and was very relieved when Chakotay gently led her out of Sickbay.

* * *

The walk to Cargo Bay 2 was conducted in almost complete silence. Seven had to be grateful that Chakotay seemed perfectly comfortable with the quiet between them, composedly holding her hand, as she struggled to identify what could possibly be an appropriate way to express everything she felt about had happened. Too soon for Seven's liking, before she'd figured out her dilemma, they'd entered the Cargo Bay. "I'll leave you here then." Chakotay murmured softly as they stopped in front of her alcove. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"

Seven could tell, or perhaps hoped, that he was reluctant to leave from the way he still held her hand. She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind, "I'm uncertain…how we are supposed to proceed Commander." She admitted hurriedly, "This scenario is very different from those I studied…" Blood flooded her face as she realised how unfeeling, how robotic, she sounded but Chakotay again came to her rescue with an easy smile.

"I don't think there is an established procedure for this, maybe there never is, but we'll think of one, okay?" He reassured her simply. If he were honest with himself, she was right. A date didn't feel enough for him, he was more involved with her now than he had been after hundred dates with other women.

Seven gulped back a lump in her throat, startled and touched by how he'd accepted her awkward words without as much as a blink. Suddenly with his gaze still fixed searchingly on her, the answer came to her. She leaned her face up into his, pressing her hands lightly to his face, and kissed him. It was tentative, if not chaste, at first, but as Chakotay responded and encouraged her to deepen it, the kiss lasted until they had to break for air. Tears of relief prickled Seven's eyes as she realised the cascade of emotions which enveloped her then brought no pain with them. "I'm in love with you…" She mumbled brokenly as his warm, heaving breaths caressed her face.

She gasped in shock as his arm tightened around her waist, pulling her body against his and forcing her head back up to his. "I'm glad…" He whispered as he wiped her tears away with the thumb of his free hand, "…because I'm in love you." He saw shock and disbelief clouding her eyes for a moment and put a stop to those feelings by tightening their embrace even further and bringing her lips back to his for a kiss of his own.

For several minutes they each lost themselves in the other and Chakotay only remembered himself when he heard Seven moan softly as they sank against the wall next to the alcove. Sprits, if I don't want to her to have her first time on the Cargo Bay floor… He disciplined himself sharply enough to pull back. "No distractions remember?" He reminded her with a breathless, husky laugh, "The Doctor would kill me…"

Seven smirked at him teasingly as she recovered her composure, which was slow to come. "I think I could deactivate him before he killed you." She replied confidently.

"I'm sure you could, but…" Chakotay began in the same tone, stopping as he scooped her up, chuckling as she gasped in surprise, and placed her firmly in her alcove, "…you need to get completely better first."

Seven sighed softly, not feeling nearly as exasperated as she thought she might by his insistence. "As you wish." She agreed, leaning into his shoulder, suddenly afraid to let him go.

He hugged her gently, becoming aware of the sudden tension in her muscles. "I'll see you tomorrow." He murmured, pulling back to meet her worried eyes, although she tried to hide it, "And every other day after that sweetheart." He reassured her lovingly.

"Perfect." Seven replied in a whisper with an equally loving smile.

**A/n: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! :D I really hope you're happy with the ending! Thanks to all of my wonderful readers of this story, especially the reviewers: Sweetdeath04, lisac1965, Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay, Teal06, Soujiku, Mtwapa, H3llfrz, DestinChild and Morrigan Wildwood. I really appreciate the support. **


End file.
